Determining Fate
by gayjutsu
Summary: Whatever higher being that decided to reincarnate me into the world of Naruto, obviously didn't do their job correctly. I have retained full knowledge of what's going to happen and I'm sure as hell going to make sure nothing goes as it's supposed to. [SI Male OC]
1. Chapter 1: A Promise

**A/N: Self-Inserts are definitely like a fourth slice of cake for writers: you know you shouldn't eat it but damn, it's just so good you have to. This is my first ever SI fic and it's something that has been brewing in my mind for a while now. I'm very happy to be writing this and would first like to thank you for choosing this story to read!**

 **If you love diversity and representation as much as I do then you've come to the right place! Eventual pairings will include M/M, M/F, and F/F (gay, straight, and lesbian). This story will be rated T for now but may or may not be rated M later on, because this is Naruto we're talking about so you all know what that means: gore, graphic violence, swearing, mature themes, the feels, fluff, etc. You're gonna get a whole emotional roller coaster ride, but don't worry I won't hit you with everything just yet. The ride is just starting!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto; I only own my original characters.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: A Promise**

Loving my new family wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.

Of course, a huge factor in this process was that I couldn't really remember my old life - less that of my old family. Still, I had my reservations with my new family because of the fact that I _knew_ that these weren't my "true" family members. So I did what any sensible person would do in my situation: I cried.

I will be the first to say that I was a very sad baby - well, initially. I cried in my free time which was basically in between intervals of sleeping and eating. The worst part was that I couldn't even cry loudly, like a normal baby would. The only thing I could produce were these pathetic little whimpers that made one tear every other whine. It was pretty weak for crying standards, but depressing, nonetheless. I had been reincarnated into the world of Naruto, a place I had only ever seen through a screen. I found this particular fact out when I recognized the Konoha leaf insignia on the forehead of one of my parents. How I was able to remember nearly all of the details from a show I happened to like, yet remember nothing about the ones I had held so dear to my heart was beyond me. Shouldn't it have been the other way around? And if anything at all, shouldn't have reincarnation made me forget everything? A clean-slate is sort of a requirement for this kind of thing, so why had my trip not gotten the memo?

These feelings of unhappiness in my small being, felt ill-placed because the tears I was crying had no real reason to be there. There was no purpose to their presence because I couldn't even remember _who_ they were for...only for who they _should_ be for.

It was more heartbreaking than one would realize.

However, my feelings about my situation began to change - being around a group of people every moment of every day tends to make them grow fond of the heart.

My weak attempts at crying caused a kind of worry that every parent fears: the unknown. They had absolutely no idea what was wrong with me and went through every possible solution to try and solve my dilemma. They tried feeding me, but I refused each bottle attempt and they could only change my diaper so many times. Trials of trying to put me to sleep were a tricky situation for me, being a baby and all. The rocking was almost hypnotizing and even won sometimes, but it always resulted in me waking up with silent tears and hiccups. Eventually, my new parents brought me to a doctor and after some strange prodings of feeling something but not, we came back home with them having no answers as before. It was at this point that I was sure they would stop trying to help me. I was a sucky baby and I was putting them through so much, so it would make sense if they didn't try anything more - I mean what else could they do?

My new parents seemed to have came to a different conclusion. It was the day after the checkup that they began their new tactic. The morning started off as usual, with me waking up with tears in my eyes and when my whimpering finally made its appearance, they acted on their plan. It was my mother who picked me up, I couldn't really make out exact details as my baby vision made everything blurry, but I could tell it was her because her long hair tickled my face and she smelled of something sweet. She picked me up and laid my head on her shoulder and rubbed her hand in a soothing motion on my back. _"I am sorry I cannot protect you from whatever sadness you are feeling Hoshito-kun. I cannot promise that you will not ever feel sad again, but I want you to know that I will always be there for you. We shall get through this together."_ Whispering softly in Japanese, a language I didn't yet understand but easily recognized, made the sadness in me lessen. I didn't need to understand what she said to know that they were all words of love.

She did this until I fell asleep again.

Next when I woke, I repeated the routine process of whimpering - but I noticed the weight in my chest had lessened. It was a slight relief, but it was definitely noticeable. I was once again picked up out of where I had been lain down and found myself in the arms of my father. He had a minty smell to him. " _Tears are words the mouth cannot express. I understand that something is weighing heavily on your heart and I will try with all my might, to alleviate that weight. I wish for your happiness, Hoshito-kun."_ as he spoke, I noted how nice his voice sounded - a rich, smooth tenor. He put me on his shoulder, in a position similar to what my mother had done, with one hand on my back and the other on my diaper-padded bottom. Soon he began to pat me in in a soft, steady rhythm. He did this until I stopped crying. It took me awhile to fall back asleep, as I was slowly encompassed with a new feeling: safeness. I couldn't fathom how they could love someone who didn't belong in this world...but, I guess in their eyes I was just their child.

The thought brought me unexpected comfort.

These actions proved to be the most healing to me. When all other solutions had failed, they had still managed to try yet again and come up with the most simple - and arguably the most complex - solution: love. They didn't know the reason for my tears but that didn't stop them from being there for me. It's indescribable to explain how utterly uplifting it is just to have someone's presence there, just for reassurance.

My heart soon began to fill with the thought of those two...my parents.

It was a handful of whimper sessions before I finally got over what I term as my "adjustment period." I accepted what had happened and I knew there was nothing I could do to change about it. There was no sense in crying over what I lost as it was more important to treasure what I had now. These were my parents now and I would love them just the same as I loved the ones back in my home world. They at least deserved that much.

My world suddenly shifted yet again when I realized just _where_ I was in the Naruto universe.

The information presented itself in the form of a little baby - or more specifically, my twin.

I'd like to say I was aware of the fact that I had a twin, but in all honesty I was - just until recently - too busy spending most of my time trying to cry successfully. I believe I was roughly around five months old before I became aware of my twin. This age brought more control of my limbs, or rather more range of movement to wildly fling my arms and legs about, and improved eyesight. Improved in a very loose sense, as things could still be fuzzy at times but details were definitely more seeable. The Japanese language was something that I was grasping rather easily and by this I mean I understood at least five words. It helped when your parents pointed out everything in the house. I was currently being carried by my mom or kaa-chan when I was brought into their bedroom and it was then I first saw my sibling. The first thought that ran through my head was: _holy shit my sibling is Naruto._ The baby had golden hair and vivid blue eyes and _oh no._ If Naruto was my sibling then wasn't it a matter of time before my parents - no, our parents…

I nearly started whimpering again when I noticed a dash of purple. There clipped into the baby's hair in a completely ridiculous, yet oh-so-cute-alfalfa-ponytail was a purple bow. The next thing I noticed were the baby's cheeks...there were no signs of whiskers.

This was not Naruto.

The feeling of relief that washed over me was overwhelming. I had just gotten over losing people I couldn't remember and I didn't want to go through losing someone that I _did_ remember. Pushing my initial feelings and thoughts aside, I began to look at the baby and figure out who this was.

Well, if the baby wasn't Naruto then who could this-

 _Ino_.

The answer came to me so fast I nearly choked on the mental whiplash. If this baby was Ino then that means I was going to grow up in the timeline of Naruto! This fact brought both feelings of dread and happiness. On one hand, I would be able to grow and become friends with the Rookie Nine, but on the other hand I would also be going through the all the hardships they suffered as well.

And boy were those hardships a shitshow.

However, my presence changes things. From what I could remember, Ino Yamanaka was an only child and here she had a sibling: me. Would me being born have any ripple effects on other events? This thought turned into another and I found myself wondering _what was it that I could change_? The question brought an onslaught of events and possible scenarios that was too distracting from the task at hand. It wouldn't bode well if I just blanked out so I stopped my train of thought, mentally making a note to return to it later.

Right now, I had a twin sister to meet.

Kaa-chan put me down next to Ino and we stared at one another. It was blank staring for a couple of seconds before Ino gave me a gummy smile, showing off a single stubby, pearly white tooth growing on the bottom gum line, before gurgling in gibberish.

 _I melted._

In my past life I didn't remember much of my loved ones, but what I did know was a couple things. One of those things was that I absolutely adored children. Ino was making a pretty convincing case as to why I should love her with my entire heart. I spoke back to her with a smile of my own, jumbling my words together in a manner that resembled hers and vaguely resembled my past language, before reaching out and patting her cheek as softly as I could.

Ino paused her blabbering to grab at my hand and it all clicked for me. So that's what I was grabbing when I slept; I always assumed it was part of a stuffed animal or something.

Ino continued to blabber on and that's when my parents began to speak.

" _Inoichi_ ," Kaa-chan gushed in an excited tone, " _look at how cute they are together!"_

Ah, Inoichi. Although it was plausible there could have been another Inoichi in Konoha, I'm pretty certain that this was Inoichi Yamanaka - further confirming that I am Ino's twin. In the anime, I had always liked his character and thought of him as one of Konoha's more formidable ninjas. Being one of the head of Torture and Interrogation shinobi, meant you had a lot of skill. Extracting information straight from someone's brain was no easy feat and I was honestly excited to be taught the clan's mind jutsus. Not to mention he was part of the legendary team formation, Ino-Shika-Chō. This deadly combination was one of my favorites and I couldn't wait to get to learn from him. Plus he was my dad so that obviously comes with bragging rights on who my dad was.

" _We made some beautiful children together, Aiko."_ Inoichi spoke and it wasn't hard to hear the affection in his voice, " _I'm also relieved that our little Hoshito-kun isn't so sad anymore. It's good to see him as a happy baby - as he should be."_

Aiko? Was that my mother's name?

Thinking back on the anime, I don't think they ever mentioned the head matron of the Yamanaka clan. Hmm, I didn't know much of anything about her character but from what I could tell she was very loving. I was actually very interested in getting to know her more. Hoshito-kun must have been me. I noted the use of the endearing term of "-kun" and mentally cheered. Thank god I was a boy. In my past life I had been a boy too and it was just a relief that I was a boy in this world as well.

" _His smile really brightens up his face doesn't it,"_ Aiko's voice held warmth but it was tinged with a somber undertone, " _I hope his smile never changes."_

The tone of her voice made me pause from my riveting conversation with Ino. My parents were obviously talking about me, but I had no clue of the context of their conversation. I was suddenly pulled out of my thoughts as something wet engulfed my hand. I squealed, a high pitched sound that was half-disgust and half-amusement, as I tried to pull my hand out of Ino's mouth. My parent's laughter filled the room, Aiko's bell-like giggles and Inoichi's surprisingly deep chuckles, which only served to spur my twin into chewing on my hand in earnest. I made an indignant sound as her single tooth met my skin, but fortunately the feeling it brought was not a painful one. It was more like a poke, if anything. I made a series of noises, urging Ino to let my hand go, and tried to pry my hand out of her grip. But Ino was surprisingly strong and my hand was the rope in our mini tug-of-war. I like to think the reason why I couldn't successfully free my hand from her grip was because I had the strength of a baby. Yes, that's what I will tell myself.

I really shouldn't have lost myself in my thoughts, because at that moment Ino decided to attack.

Ino gave me a one-toothy smile, her periwinkle blue eyes sparkling at me with joy, and the image was just too damn cute I lost my focus for a second. That second was enough for her to yank my hand towards her mouth. My eyes widened when I realized what she had planned. Ino was only a baby and she had already managed to trick her way into getting what she wanted.

I think I'm going to like having her as a twin.

Well if this was how she was going to be, then two can play at this game! Just as my hand neared her mouth, I flipped our hands' positions and watched in satisfaction as her own hand landed in her mouth. Score! Ino, however, didn't realize that I had switched our hands and happily gnawed away at her own hand. I watched in amusement as her drool quickly covered her hand and how in between bites she would pause just enough to babble at me in gibberish. I hummed and patted her head, but my aim was a bit off and it resulted in me patting her forehead instead. Dang, where was my physical prowess ability when I needed it?! I just used it not even a couple of seconds ago with the whole hand switch thing!

Geez, being a baby again will take some major adjusting to get used to.

My parents' laughter filled the air again and Ino mummored happily against her hand. So this was my life now, huh? Reincarnated into the Naruto world with full knowledge of all the events that were bound to happen. No, not bound; they were events that _could_ happen. So far I already changed something and was now the twin brother of Ino. Sitting there, listening to the sounds of joy coming from my new family, I made a promise. I would do my very best to protect the light and love in this world, just like the light and love I was feeling in this room. There was too long a list of terrible and tragic things that had happened in the Naruto world. I knew it was impractical and illogical to think I could stop everything bad that was supposed to happen. Also how unlikely it was for me to have such strong feelings on the matter, but here I am.

I wanted to protect them. I wanted to protect them all, as many people as I could from a future that could be so dark. It was a daunting task, I know.

But, I had to try.

So try, I will.

* * *

 **A/N: A nice warm cup of hot chocolate for your thoughts about this so far?**


	2. Chapter 2: A New World

**A/N: Wow, I really didn't expect this story to be as well-received as it was! Thank you all so much for giving this story such positive feedback (liking, following, reviewing, etc.). It truly makes me so happy that you all are enjoying my story so far! :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: A New World**

Being reborn in the world of Naruto meant a concept that was previously uncommon to that of my old world: chakra.

Chakra was something I have never truly known before or have been aware of, but in this world it may as well have come along with a gigantic billboard sign with neon lights and fireworks shooting out behind it that read: 'CHAKRA.'

Getting used to my own chakra was like getting used to a third arm or a third leg. After you get over the initial shock of _holy crap what is this_ , you get pretty accustomed to it afterwards. My chakra sort of felt like how one would feel like after a satisfying meal; I just felt _full_. Not in the sense that I was going to explode, but rather in the sense that I was filled with something that I had been previously missing before. Which made sense because in my old world, chakra had been absent. If I really paid attention to it, I could feel the different layers but overall it made me feel warm and cool at the same time. The only thing I could relate it to would be a cool breeze on a warm summer day. It's that feeling, but all the time and it was actually pretty nice to be honest. Soon after I noticed my own chakra, I became aware of other's. It was quite interesting because for some reason, the chakra of others came to me in images.

Inoichi's chakra reminded me of a breeze weaving through grasslands. The 'breeze' aspect was very calming and serene, which was just like Inoichi's personality - or from what could be seen in the knowledge I gleaned from the anime. It was filled with life which was equivalent to how vibrant and lively, Inoichi could be. His tickling sessions were clear examples of that, I would know. I was one of his top two favorite victims to tickle, the other being Ino.

Aiko's chakra reminded me of a watering can. From the anime, it hinted that Ino's mother wasn't a ninja but her chakra said otherwise. In the Naruto world, chakra is used for everything which means that everyone uses it - ninja or not. Her chakra poured out in small amounts at a time, most likely to complete mundane tasks, but the spout on the watering can was large. I inferred that she probably made it to chunin, at the most, before retiring. This is because at one point in time, her chakra was used in larger amounts, most likely in battle to complete jutsus. The watering can was very accurate in depicting Aiko because she was a very thoughtful and caring woman. Her soft caresses and light kisses were something that occurred throughout the day multiple times. She really was a wonderful mother.

Ino's chakra, funnily enough, was something that reminded me of a meadow of flowers. She was sweet and was truly beautiful inside and out. Very colorful, which hinted at her independent and confident personality which would be sure to show more clearly as she grew up.

After being able to identify my family member's chakra in such a vivid way, I eventually came to the conclusion that I was some sort of chakra sensor. The news was met enthusiastically because the skill set would definitely come in handy in the years to come as a ninja. However, my celebration in my new-found, self-appointed gift soon revealed it's downside.

The Nine-Tailed Beast, Kurama, tended to put a damper on things.

The night of the Kyuubi attack was something I would never forget. I was sleeping peacefully, dreaming of a world filled with people I could no longer remember, when I suddenly woke up. You know that knot in your stomach, the one you get when you feel like something bad is gonna happen? Imagine that but it's spreaded so your entire body feels that way; this was my only warning. The chakra that attacked was terrifying as it was suffocating. It was something that settled over you like a net, ensnaring you and immobilizing you with its power. The feel of it was something I never wanted to feel ever again. It was filled with the kind of negative emotion that consumes souls. I felt it claw at my core, as if wanting to consume me too.

 _Fuck._

I know I wasn't the best at crying loudly, if my early months of life were anything to go by, but the Kyuubi made it near impossible. The weight of the chakra was so heavy, I could only let out deep breaths and cry silently in response. A majority of the tears were from the dark chakra in the air but part of it was because I knew what was happening. At this moment, Minato and Kushina were fighting their very last battle. Naruto was going to become the new jinchuuriki and would soon find himself an orphan. On top of losing his family, Naruto would also find himself being the village pariah and for the first portion of his life, he will know no love.

A gurgled cry tore through the air, jolting me out of my thoughts.

Ino was crying. She was able to get out choked sobs and the fact that I couldn't do anything to help her was frustrating in a way I never felt before. I really hated being helpless. Her chakra jumped out at me like a jack-in-the-box. I wasn't expecting it, but it was something that needed to be seen. Her chakra image began to change. The flowers began to close and retreat into budding forms and began to grow thorns. A pollen cloud began to lightly cover the meadow and I could only assume it was something akin to poison. I guess even babies have a defensive mechanism in chakra.

Suddenly I was being lifted into the air and the soothing whispers of Aiko filled my ears, " _Don't worry. Kaa-chan is here, kaa-chan will protect you."_ Ino's cries became louder as Aiko picked her up and held the both of us in her arms. Her chakra was amazingly calm for someone in her situation. Aiko began to rock us back and forth, whispering sweetly in our ears and that is how Inoichi found us. Inoichi's chakra image had also changed. What used to be the sunny grassland was now anything but. The grassland had become eerily still, yet I watched as something crawled within the tall grasses. It gave me the impression of a predator stalking its prey, ready to lash out and attack at any given moment. The once bright weather was now cloudy and thunder could be heard in the distance. This must have been Inoichi's chakra when he was in shinobi mode. Of course I knew what Inoichi was capable of, but the change was still shocking. This was a new Inoichi.

Kurama's chakra was no longer as potent as it was before, though there were remnants still left in the air from him. Ino had fallen asleep shortly after Kurama disappeared but I was still wide awake. I had stopped crying long ago, but my eyes were misty. Poor Kushina and Minato...

Inoichi traded words with Aiko in hushed whispers before picking Ino up and walking away. He must have put her back in bed because I was in his arms the next moment, " _Oh, Hoshito-kun."_ Inoichi whispered, his voice filled with concern and worry. A lot had happened that night and I was in a very emotional state, so the way he said my name was just enough to send me right back over the edge.

I don't know how long I cried, but all I do know is that Inoichi held me in his arms until I fell asleep.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

I figured turning one was a good time to start walking.

Ino and I had already passed the other milestones such as crawling and saying our first words. My first word had been tou-chan, which had delighted Inoichi so much that he managed to sneak me my first taste of a popsicle. Ino's first word was something that surprised all of us - me especially. We had been in the living room, us playing on the floor together, when she poked me in the side, "Ito!" She was giving me her signature smile, one that showed off her five pearly whites and made her eyes glow in happiness. She couldn't properly say my full name nor could she pronounce the 't' correctly - it sounded more like a 'th' sound.

It was utterly _adorable._

Of course I couldn't leave her hanging, I mean what kind of twin brother would I be if I did that? I gave Ino my warmest smile and patted her cheek, "Ino!" The smile I got in answer was somehow even brighter than her earlier one. Yeah, Ino was definitely a cute kid.

We gradually began speaking more and the both of us could form broken sentences now. I like to attribute our vocabulary growth to Inoichi and Aiko. They talked to us daily and didn't hold back too terribly much with big words.

It had become sort of a routine thing in the Yamanaka household for Inoichi to give Ino and I an update of his day right before bedtime. Of course, he filtered out the _really_ gory details but it was still interesting nonetheless. These were one of my favorite moments of the day. Neither of my parents really spoke to Ino and I in that high-pitched or slow baby talk way adults tended to do around babies. They spoke to us relatively normally - albeit a bit more simple but that was to be expected because we _were_ babies after all. Inoichi's nightly talks was filled with the outside world and knowledge about Konoha and shinobi ways. I'm not sure if it was the way Inoichi cradled me in his arms or how he always had a gentle smile when he looked at me or the way his chakra would somehow reach out and wrap around mine in a protective hold, but I soon found myself falling into the category of a daddy's boy.

Don't get me wrong, I wasn't picking favorites; Aiko was too good a mother to be placed as second favorite. During the day, Aiko would tell us mini stories or teach us life lessons. At first, I thought it was odd that she would be teaching us all this when we were so young. I mean, how would a baby ever be able to remember all this stuff? I soon found out that babies in the shinobi world developed differently than the ones in my world did. Of course, I was able to retain the information Aiko taught us but Ino surprised me when she was able to do so as well. It was maybe a couple days after Aiko gave us the sharing talk, when Ino let me play with her favorite stuffed animal: a bunny. The bunny was light brown in color with a baby pink nose, long ears, and a green bow around its neck. Ino never slept without it so it surprised me when she offered it to me one night before bedtime. I had blinked owlishly before accepting it with a grateful thank you.

Aiko was a positive influence in our lives and I loved her just as much as I did Inoichi, but the bond was a bit more different. With Inoichi, I don't know there was just something _there_. I could tell it was the same for Aiko and Ino, so I was glad that we all had something going for each of us.

Anyways, I digress, back to the whole walking thing.

I had taken it upon myself to reteach myself how to walk and help Ino as well. Our practice sessions would happen after we woke up from our afternoon naps, as that was the time where we were the most away from our parents' eyesight. I'd wake up, rub the sleep out of my eyes and sit up with a soft hum. Ino could sleep deeply when she wanted to, but at the sound of my hum she would wake up and smile as if that was all she had been waiting for. We would practice for maybe five minutes at a time before Aiko or Inoichi would find out that we were awake This happened over a series of weeks and when our day of birth finally arrived, we were ready.

The thing about having shinobi parents was that they were incredible at stealth. Usually they would take effort into making noise when around us but in the early morning hours, they tended to be quiet as to not wake us. By hearing and guesswork alone, I would never have been able to tell when they were up, but luckily their chakra gave away their locations. When asleep their chakra circulated in a gradual motion and when they woke, it seemed to go a bit faster. So on the morning of our first birthday, something I had been able to prepare for thoroughly as my parents liked to count down the days, we woke up and began our way to the living room where our parents were located.

It's showtime!

A few wobbly steps later, we were stumbling down the hallway to the living room giggling madly the entire way. Our practice sessions definitely pulled off! We burst into the room with our hands clasped together in a show of pure adorableness. I smiled brightly at the shocked faces of our parents: Aiko's mouth was open in surprise, her eyes sparkling in amusement while Inoichi's mouth was pulled back into a wide smile, a knowing gleam in his eyes. Dang it, they both knew what we had planned. Well, I guess that's what you get for having shinobi parents. Despite this new revelation, the plan was still a success! Together, Ino and I waddled over to where our parents were standing and were soon gathered up into their arms. I was being spun around by Aiko while Ino was being spun around by Inoichi.

"You two took your first steps on your first birthday," Aiko exclaimed excitedly once she stopped spinning me, "we are so very proud of you two." Her chakra washed over me in a warm caress, telling me of her emotions of pride and love. The smile on her face could have lit up the whole village from how bright it was.

"What a very special coincidence," Inoichi thought aloud and raised an eyebrow knowingly, "you didn't have anything to do with this, did you Hoshito-kun?"

I smiled brightly in answer to which Inoichi chuckled at, "That's my boy."

The comment caused warmth to fill my chest.

The birthday celebration went on without a hitch. The cake was a wonderful mix of vanilla and chocolate and resulted in Ino and I having to get a quick change of clothes. We really didn't hold back with that cake, with most of it ending up in our stomachs or on some part of our body. The presents were...interesting to say the least. I had been given a fake rubber kunai, a fairytale book about a ninja and prince, a rather cute plushie of a leaf, and a handful of clothes and other accessories. Ino had been given pretty much the same except her fairytale involved a princess turned ninja and she got a plushie of a flower instead of a leaf. The party involved mainly us and other Yamanaka clan members coming in and out of the house to give us birthday wishes. I wish I could say I remembered them all but the majority came around the time of cake and I was pretty busy then (inhaling as much as I could). The anime didn't really mention much of the other Yamanaka clan members so I really should have taken the opportunity to get to know them.

Oh well, next time.

The party was winding down and it was just the four of us in the house now. Ino and I were on the floor, vainly attempting to read our books (we were just looking at the pictures honestly) when there was a knock on the door. Inoichi got up to answer it, my eyes following after him curiously.

"Ah, I was wondering when you would arrive." Inoichi said in a teasing tone.

I wonder who it could be at the door?

"I apologize Inoichi-san," a boy's voice answered, "but there was an extra project at the academy that I had to complete."

Inoichi stepped back and the boy walked through. At first glance I didn't really recognize who it was, not that there were many Yamanaka individuals that I could distinguish. The boy had auburn orange hair pulled back into a short ponytail with bangs past his cheekbones framing his face. His hair looked like it had a bit of a fluffy quality to it, not really in volume but texture. Hmm, I wonder if it was soft? His eyes were a vivid shade of golden brown and he had small features. Staring at him, I got the nagging feeling that I should remember him. His chakra came to me in the form of a growing tree. It was pretty standard at first glance but upon closer inspection, I found it was no ordinary tree. The bark was a weird mixture of wood and metal, shifting between the two...no a more accurate description was that the wood was peeling away to reveal a metal surface underneath. The roots of the tree weaved in and out of the ground, rising to varying heights. As I glanced up, I noted how the trees' branches reached out in a wide expanse. The leaves were an interesting shade - because they weren't your standard green. It was actually blue, numerous shades in fact. The aura I got off of it was calm, though I could feel it's potential; just like the image of a tree, Fū would grow. And the end result was an image that had the potential to be breathtaking.

"Fū-kun!" Aiko said in a delighted tone, "I'm so glad you could make it. I hope that project wasn't anything too strenuous?"

Wait a second, Fū as in Fū Yamanaka!? The memories of what happened to him in the anime suddenly filled my mind - crystal clear. He was in Root, following under Danzō's leadership which would be the path that would ultimately lead to his demise. He would later fight a man named Ao who had a Byakugan obtained as a spoiler of the Third Shinobi World War. Fū would later be used as a sacrifice for the Reanimation jutsu and be used to resurrect Torune, a member of the Aburame clan. The now resurrected Torune would be under control of Orochimaru's right hand man, Kabuto, to be used as a pawn in the Fourth Shinobi World War. The information ran through my head in a concise and quick manner, lasting only a couple seconds.

Well, shit.

"Nothing I couldn't handle, Aiko-san." Fū gave her a proud smile.

"I wouldn't expect anything less," Inoichi ruffled his hair in jest, "and we keep telling you that you don't have to use those honorifics around us, Fū."

It was quite odd seeing him here, so young and free. Knowing what would happen to him in the future...how truly little time he would have. Fū looked at my parents, a fond expression and a soft smile on his face. He definitely didn't resemble the cold soldier he would one day become while in Root. Could I possibly change his fate? Could I protect him from Danzō?

The thought of the man brought up all the dark deeds I know that he committed.

The man was one of the main instigators of the Uchiha massacre, pushing Itachi Uchiha to make the tragic decision of murdering nearly all of his clan members. Not to mention Danzō would later on steal the eyes of the said clan for his own use. His teachings would not only affect Fū, but countless others such as Sai and Shin as well. Danzō was someone who added to the darkness of the Naruto world and he was someone I had always loathed. His actions were self-justified because he viewed it as for the greater good of Konoha. This backwards and twisted view of means to an end was all the more that made the man a psychotic lunatic.

"And I keep telling you that I won't change the way I call you two, Inoichi-san," Fū's voice pulled me out of my thoughts, "because you deserve the respect the honorific implies. Although, do know that all the familiarity and affection that would be known if I were to drop the honorific is included when I use it. I deeply-"

"Oh, you're so adorable Fū-kun!" Aiko gushed, interrupting him and rushing over to pinch his cheeks, "I hope my kids grow up to be as sweet and kind as you."

At the mention of 'kids,' Fū's eyes roamed over to where Ino and I lay on the floor. Ino was blissfully unaware of the new visitor, too engrossed by the beautiful array of colors in her fairytale book. I, on the other hand, was too interested in said visitor so that's how I ended up making eye contact with him. I'd like to say I was awkward and looked away in shyness when he caught myself staring at him, but that did not happen. Fū's eyes were captivating not only in color but in emotion as well; being on the receiving end of said gaze was similar to being a deer caught in headlights. I couldn't move under his penetrating gaze that analyzed all too much. It felt like I was under a microscope.

"So these are the twins?" Fū questioned, his tone light and eyes never leaving mine.

"These sure are!" Inoichi's voice filled with pride, "Ino-chan is the one reading the book. She's as adorable as they come and I can already tell she has a very independent streak in her. She's already picking out her favorite foods, which are all fruits by the way, and she absolutely adores all things plant life. Hoshito-kun is the one who's staring at you." Inoichi chuckled at this revelation but continued on, "He's the younger of the two by two-and-a-half minutes and is quite the affectionate one. He loves cuddling and being held, so don't be surprised if he never lets you go. He's very friendly with everyone and has a cute charm to him. Hoshito-kun loves books, especially fairytales, and particularly enjoys when we read to him."

Those...were very true facts.

Fū hummed in answer before walking over to where Ino and I were. It was almost intimidating, his eyes never left mine as he moved closer. I probably would have cried but his eyes held no malice towards me. If anything, it only held curiosity and was that...awe? Fū walked until he was standing right in front of us and by now, Ino's attention was on him - her book forgotten in favor of this new person. Fū crouched down to our level, his eyes flickered between the two of us, "They don't really look alike."

"Well of course," Aiko said gently, "they are only fraternal twins."

"Their hair colors are different and so are their eyes - they both have such stunning eyes." Fū observed.

Huh? I glanced over at Ino, her turning to look at me at the same time. In the back of my head I was amused, maybe it was a twin thing that made us be so in sync. But I was mainly focused on Ino's hair and eyes. I didn't know I had a different hair and eye color as Ino? I always assumed that we were pretty similar when it came to those things.

Hmm, I wonder what I looked like?

I was once again pulled out of my thoughts when I suddenly felt something poke my cheek. I blinked and focused my gaze at Fū whose lips were tilted upward in an amused smile, "Hello, Hoshito-kun. My name is Fū Yamanaka and it's a pleasure meeting you."

I didn't have much time to respond because he turned to Ino and repeated pretty much the same thing, "Hello Ino-chan. My name is Fū Yamanaka and it's very nice to meet you."

I blinked, turning to look at Ino for a second and sniffed when I met her gaze. She gave me a small smile in answer and together we turned back and said, "Fū!"

Oh, if only I had a camera. The expression on Fū's face was something that should be framed and put up everywhere. His mouth was open in an 'o' shape, his eyes were wide in shock, and the color of pink was quickly overtaking his cheeks. I'm pretty sure the poor boy even stopped breathing for a couple of seconds, but my worry didn't last long. Fū's mouth was quick to change into a an almost bashful, yet satisfied smile.

Inoichi and Aiko's laughter filled the room. "They're also very intelligent for their age," Aiko sang out to the flustered boy, "so they tend to catch onto things rather fast. They seem to really like you Fū-kun!"

"T-they said my name," Fū said in a quiet, disbelieving whisper, "they really said my name."

Inoichi walked over and ruffled the boy's hair once again, "They sure did. I think this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship between the three of you."

I got up from my sitting position and waddled over to where Fū was and practically flung myself onto him. Fū caught me with ease and allowed me to play with the bangs framing his face. Yes, just as I assumed, it really was soft. Ino was quick to follow and soon joined me in Fū's arms, playing with his hair as well. Fū stared at me with wide eyes before it fell away into something like the expression I saw him use on my parents earlier. He turned to look at Ino to gaze at her in the same way.

Ino stayed in his arms for a couple more minutes before patting his cheek, "Fū, nice!"

Fū gave her a warm smile, "Thank you Ino-chan."

Ino gave her his signature smile and I swore I saw Fū _melt_. I couldn't really blame him though, Ino's signature smile was a deadly weapon and how she used it was lethal. I would have been more surprised if he _hadn't_ melted. Ino wiggled out of his arms and went back to the book she was looking at earlier, flipping to a page with a princess in an extravagant ball gown. Ino squealed in excitement, before running to Aiko saying, "Pretty! Want it! Want it!"

Ino was already falling in love with fashion, I giggled.

Fū, who had previously been watching Ino, switched his attention to me and _oh god._ I'm not sure what it was, but just him staring at me that intently made me feel shy and so vulnerable. So I did what my instincts were screaming at me to do and cradled my face into his chest, my arms wrapping themselves around his torso. Ahh, yes, this would protect me from his gaze. Out of sight, out of mind.

Of course, this just wasn't how things worked.

Fū chuckled and poked my sides, tickling me a little and causing another giggle to escape my mouth, "Why, Hoshito-kun, you really are cuddly aren't you?"

My answer was to only snuggle my head against him. Okay so what if I was very affectionate? Was it so bad that I really liked the warmth of others? Or to be held? I was a perpetrator of being too cute, so sue me. Even in my past life I had been rather touchy with the ones I loved, it just so happened that that attribute...intensified when I arrived here.

I made an indignant sound when I felt arms reach under my armpits and hoist me up into the air. I blinked in shock when I realized that Fū had raised me up to eye level, a teasing gleam in his eyes, "Hoshito-kun, are you shy?"

Dang it! Those vivid eyes were staring into mine again and I had no escape! I could feel the heat rush into my face and I attempted to cover my cheeks, my head tucking to the side in a vain attempt to hide from his gaze. Fū chuckled and surprised me once again when he pulled me in for a hug. I eagerly wrapped my arms around him, tucking my face into his neck.

"You're quite lovable, you know that?" Fū whispered, "You both are too cute for your own good."

The comment caused a smile to come onto my face. As I sat there, Fū ran his hand through my hair softly while striking up a conversation with Inoichi. It was a very peaceful moment, but of course my mind had to fill with other things. Things of a very possible future, if I didn't change it.

The Fū that I knew of, had a future that was lonely and painful. His life in Root would be one of oppression and isolation. Although he did end up pretty close with Torune, there were still plenty of bad things he was forced to go through. It was all because of one man too: Danzō.

How could I possibly change Fū's fate? I was literally only one year old, if Danzō were to walk in now and whisk Fū away I would be powerless against him. Of course, Inoichi and Aiko would most likely put up a fight but that's besides the point. Danzō was a very powerful and influential man in Konoha and taking him down would be no easy task. An older and darker, Sasuke Uchiha would be one to attest to that fact. But maybe if I could somehow throw Danzō off of his track sooner...maybe take away some key players, change some key events, spread seeds of doubt...then maybe I could stop Danzō. The thought of Danzō brought on other thoughts such as Orochimaru, Kabuto, Tobi, Madara and countless others. There were many prominent 'bad guys' in the Naruto world and the task of stopping all of them was easier said than done.

Fū's laughter stirred me out of my reverie, his body shaking with the action. Inoichi was quick to join him in laughing and soon the house was filled with the peals of their laughter. I pulled away from Fū, just enough to see his expression but not entirely so that I was out of his embrace. Fū's mouth was pulled back in a wide smile and his eyes were closed from the effort of laughing. It was an expression of pure mirth and his chakra radiated his joy. Seeing him like this caused a lingering thought to solidify:

would Fū be someone I want to save too?

Sensing my gaze, Fū opened his eyes to stare into my own, his laughter slowly dwindling down. We stared at one another like that, our staring contest once again starting up, but this time I didn't feel as intimidated as before. Fū's eyes were as intense as ever, but it was almost masked by the warmth they held. I raised my left hand and placed it over Fū's chest, his heartbeat a steady rhythm against the palm of my hand.

"Hoshito-kun?" Fū questioned, a curious tilt to his tone.

I was quiet for a moment, letting myself be hypnotized by his beating heart. Fū was truly a good person - I could feel it (literally). How someone so good could ever turn out to be so bad was beyond me, especially when I was here to witness all the good Fū had to offer. I know I had only just gotten to get to know Fū and the list of people I wanted to help was already very long...but adding one more person wouldn't hurt.

I was already out to save people, so might as well save as many as I could, right?

"Fū…" my voice came out hushed but the tone was serious, something Fū recognized because his brows furrowed slightly. I could feel his chakra start to swirl and my eyes widened when emotions of worry and anxiousness washed over me, but they were not my own. Were these...Fū's emotions? As perplexed as I was, I couldn't wait to finish my sentence any longer cause the poor boy was practically sweating. The silence, which couldn't have been more than ten seconds, was enough for the boy's brows to furrow completely and the tips of his lips to curl downwards. Was he that worried about what I would say?

"Fū.." I patted my hand over his heart gently, giving him a warm smile, "Fū, good!"

The relief that washed over him was palpable. His once worried expression smoothed out into a brilliant smile, a light pink dusting his cheeks, "T-thank you, Hoshito-kun!"

Inoichi's chuckles once again resounded throughout the house. He walked over and ruffled Fū's hair for the thousandth time today, "Hoshito-kun sure had you worried there for a second, huh Fū?"

Fū looked at me, his gaze bewildered and there was that awed look again, "Do they do this with everyone?"

"Do what, exactly?" Aiko asked, though her tone suggested she already knew the answer. She was just wanting to see if Fū did.

Fū took a breath, almost as if he were re-centering himself, "Make you like them immediately?"

Inoichi and Aiko gave amused hums, urging Fū to continue, "I haven't even known the twins for a day and I already find myself caring a great deal for them. How did they do it? How are they so cute - it should be illegal to be this adorable! I mean come on, look at Ino!"

Fū pointed at Ino who was at the other side of the living room, reading her book to her flower plushie. But the thing was, she couldn't read, so there Ino was making up a story to read to her stuffed flower. I couldn't really make out all of what she was saying but my attention was on _how_ Ino was reading the book: it was upside down.

Okay, that was pretty damn adorable.

"She is reading to a stuffed flower with the book upside down! If that isn't the cutest thing ever, then I don't know what is? And look at him," Fū gently picked me out of his embrace and stood me on the ground, facing my parents, "he's just as cute as she is."

His compliments plus all the attention that was on me, caused the heat to return to my face in full force. I smiled at them all, not knowing what else to do, while nervously twisted my hands in my shirt. Oh...their eyes were intense; time to hide! In my eagerness to get out of this situation, I rose the front of my shirt to hide my face from them. I know this wasn't the best plan, but it was the fastest solution I could come up with!

"Everything he does is endearing!" Fū's voice reached my ears, his tone exasperated but fond, "Not to mention how sweet he is, I mean he's always eager for a hug. You weren't kidding when you said he was affectionate."

By now, I was peeking over my shirt, staring at Fū as he spoke. I huffed a little in annoyance. I wasn't _always_ eager for a hug. I know that I was very affectionate but there was a time and a place for everything and I-

was Fū stretching his arms open for a hug?

I like to blame the fact that I was a little cold, from having exposed my stomach, for my next actions. Yes, that's why I was in Fū's arms before they were fully outstretched and snuggling my head in the crook of his neck. Because I was cold and since Fū was warm, this was the only logical solution.

No, it didn't have to do anything with the fact that I liked being held.

"He's in my arms as soon as the hug is offered," Fū observed before wrapping his arms around me, "and that thing he did earlier? The whole put his hand on my heart and say my name all serious? The little munchkin had me so worried he was going to say he didn't like me - it was _so nerve-wracking!"_

It was silent for a couple of seconds, Fū had began running his hands through my hair again and my parents were simply staring at Fū - most likely processing all that he said.

"So what we're hearing is…" Inoichi gave Fū a kind smile, "you like them."

"Like is an understatement," Fū muttered, his arms tightening around me slightly, "more like love."

"Fū…!" AIko said in a shocked yet happy tone.

Wait, am I missing something here?

"I know, I'm just as surprised as you two are," Fū explained, a small incredulous laugh coming out of his mouth but it somehow didn't sound right, "ever since my parents passed away, people have been treating me differently. Everyone except you two and obaa-san, that is."

Fū…

The anime gave little background on Fū's character and his family so I just assumed he had a family but just chose to go down a dark path. But I guess the reality of the situation was different. Fū was a physical reminder that these people that I'm interacting with are not just characters I had watched in an anime. These were real life people now, with all the complexities that came along with it.

There was still more to this world and the people in it that I had yet to learn about.

"I know you two know how hard it is for me to let people into my life," Fū's voice was quiet, bordering on somber, "the two people I loved more than anything in the world were taken away from me. Tou-san...Kaa-san…"

Fū's chakra reached out to me. The tree's various blue-shaded leaves were turning pale and the peeling of the bark had stopped. The image flashed by briefly before it went away, leaving a hollow, striking feeling inside me. This...this was Fu's emotions once again, but it was something I recognized: loss and grief.

"Their losses made it hard to let others into my heart. I-I didn't want to lose anyone else again so that's why I...I couldn't let...I didn't want to-" Fū took in a shuddering breath and I hugged Fū a little harder.

He was crying.

My family members surrounded Fū, lending them their touches of comfort. Inoichi and Aiko had taken up either side of Fū, with one hand on each shoulder. Ino had come over when Fū's chakra image began to change and was now next to me hugging Fū. How she knew when to come was a question for a later time; right now, Fū needed us.

"But, these two," Fū's embrace became tighter, squeezing me and Ino closer together in his lap, "they managed to somehow worm their way into my heart and… I'm happy they did. They give me hope that in the future, I'll be able to let others into my heart as I had once easily done. That... I can recover from the loss of my parents."

Nobody said a word for a long time after Fū's heartful admission, choosing to remain silent and embracing one another.

If I wasn't for sure before, I was damn sure now.

Fū, you are someone I will save too.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, so I originally planned just to introduce Fū and add some cute moments and then end the chapter there, but a little thing I like to call 'character depth' took control and made me give you all a sprinkle of the feels. I hope this wasn't too choppy or anything.**

 **I'm sure you noticed that the suffixes are kind of everywhere in this chapter, so allow me to explain. This was intentional, and although I'm not too terribly familiar with the etiquette, I have a pretty good gist of it. Aiko's use of the suffix -kun for Fū is because he's still a kid and Aiko uses it with endearment. She drops the suffix in serious matters and Inoichi doesn't use a suffix for Fū to emphasize the comfort and familiarity of their bond. He wants Fū to be as welcome and comfortable as he can. Hoshito and Ino don't use the suffixes cause, I mean they just turned one. Fū uses honorifics all the time just because I think of him as being very polite. Throughout the story, the suffixes will most likely be all over the place but there will be reasoning behind it as can be seen here. I felt the need to explain myself here so I won't have to in the future. Just expect suffixes to come and go.**

 **Anyways, Hoshito has decided to add one more person to the list of people he wants to save. I can tell you that Fū will not be the last, but what remains to be seen is who else will Hoshito deem 'needs to be saved?' Some people are probably obvious answers, but maybe I'll end up surprising you with some of the people Hoshito chooses.**

 **A nice warm cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows and whipped cream for your thoughts?**


	3. Chapter 3: Familiar Faces

**A/N: Oops I meant to get this out sooner, as I try to keep my updates somewhat weekly, but that obviously didn't happen. Oh, well the update is finally here and that's all that matters. Hope you all enjoy this update! :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Familiar Faces**

Yamanaka Flowers was the famous flower shop in the Naruto world that I had only ever seen a handful of times. I'll be the first one to tell you that the anime definitely did not do it enough justice.

The entire building was extremely aesthetically pleasing. It had a greenhouse meets cottage in the woods kind of vibe. Not to mention, the extremely _enormous_ range of flowers they had in stock. There were, of course, all the generic types of flowers such as roses, tulips, sunflowers, etc. but then there were also exotic flowers such as moonflowers, plumerias, and blue-bell tunicates. Aiko was an expert on everything involving plants and she made sure that we knew everything there was to know. She made sure we were on the correct path to distinguishing plants and knowing which ones were safe to eat and which ones were poisonous. She taught us how to mix them to make herbal remedies and how to arrange flowers in certain ways to convey hidden messages. All in all it was very educational, but Ino really excelled in this area. Sure, I was pretty good at it and the information was immensely useful, but Ino made my progress look like a pea compared to a watermelon. Ino soaked up all of Aiko's teachings like a sponge and even began asking her intense questions about what she was learning. Aiko took everything in stride and provided Ino with answers that appeased her curiosity - answers I couldn't even begin to comprehend even if I wanted to.

It wouldn't surprise me if Ino would later on become a prodigy in poison and medicine.

Yamanaka Flowers was pretty popular in Konoha and there was a steady stream of traffic coming in and out of the shop daily. Ino and I were three when we were told we were finally allowed to help out at the shop. Aiko had deemed us employee ready and it was our job to help water flowers and greet customers. The both of us were ecstatic, but I think for different reasons. Ino was happy to get to finally apply her knowledge, share it with customers and work in an environment surrounded by the subject she loved so much. I was happy because I would be able to finally interact with the people of Konoha, plus there was no telling when someone I might recognize would walk into the store!

Coincidentally, our first day of work was the first day I actually got to see what I looked like in this world. Of course, I've been able to glance at myself in a reflection here and there, but I never really _looked_ at myself until our first day of work. Aiko had no reservation in making the most of the day and we were going all out in order to 'attract more customers' but I think it was just her excuse to dress us up really fancy. Ino and I were both in clothing called 'yukatas' which were basically cotton-made kimonos instead of the standard silk. Ino was in a baby blue yukata that had intricate floral designs littering all over it. My yukata was a slightly darker shade of blue that had an interesting array of designs all over it in shades of purple and white. Aiko had swiftly done our hair and then she put us in front of a full length mirror.

I'm not quite sure what I was expecting from my reflection, but I was very surprised. The first thing I noticed were my eyes and let me tell you they were definitely not the same as Ino's periwinkle blue _._ Of all the shades my eyes could have been, they were flipping _lilac purple._ I scooted closer to the mirror, pressing my face up against it, and got a better view of my eyes. My eyes seemed to glow in the reflection, with the edges being violet but as the color neared my pupil it began to get lighter in color to a lilac shade. There were also dots in my eyes in varying shades of pink...huh, this was interesting. I knew the Naruto world generated some pretty wild phenotypes, like Sakura's pastel pink hair and the Uchiha sharingan eyes but for it to happen to _me_ was something I had not anticipated.

It was kinda cool, to be honest.

Once I had satisfied my fill of staring into my eyes, I took a couple steps back to take in my other features. My hair was the next thing I noticed, it was an ash light brown color. Aiko had styled my hair into a sleek ponytail with a single braid on the top of my head. My hair had gotten pretty long too. Even up in a ponytail, the tip of it reached a little past the back of my neck. I mentally made a note that I wanted to grow it longer, like how Inoichi's hair was. My features were soft and a bit girly: a small round nose, coral pink lips, and _dude_ my eyelashes were long. My ears stuck out the tiniest bit farther than normal, but it wasn't anything too noticeable. As I looked in the mirror, I came to a conclusion:

I was fucking adorable.

Well, thank you to Aiko and Inoichi for the good genes! Ino was a pretty cute kid and I'm just glad I was able to keep up with her in the looks department. Twins, even fraternal twins, had to both have the same level of good looks and I'm glad we exemplified that ideal.

I rearranged the yukata I was wearing, straightening it, while my thoughts began circulating around a world I was once apart of. It was kind of aggravating because I had nothing to compare my looks to. I couldn't remember at all what I used to look like and the thought was almost enough to get me into a depressed state. I sighed, tightening my ponytail, and shook my head. No, there was no point in getting sad of something I couldn't even remember about. I should just focus on the present.

"You look beautiful." Ino's voice broke my thoughts and I looked up at her through the mirror.

Ino's hair was also in a similar ponytail to mine, except in place of the braid there were two purple hair clips on either side of her head. She was giving me her signature I-can-make-you-melt-and-fall-in-love-with-me smile which automatically warranted me to smile back at her, "Thank you, Ino. You look beautiful, as well."

Ino's smile got wider and she flipped her hair back mockingly, "Of course! I always look beautiful."

I snorted, before giggling, "Whatever you say, Ino." She really wasn't wrong about that fact, though.

Ino chuckled and placed a hand on my shoulder, "Thank you for the compliment, Ito."

Yeah, Ino never really called me anything else unless she was serious about something. The nickname kinda just stuck and who was I to turn away an endearing nickname? Plus it helped emphasize the fact that we were twins, what with similar names and all.

"No problem."

Ino flashed me her signature smile again before grabbing my hand and leading us down to the living room where our parents were waiting for us. Aiko had gotten us ready and had already seen what we looked like, but that didn't stop the excited gasp from escaping her lips when we came into view. Inoichi's expression was almost comical; his mouth was dropped open and his eyes were opened extremely wide.

Ino and I giggled at the sight, "How do you think we look, tou-chan?" Ino asked, giving him a twirl to see her entire outfit.

Inoichi shook his head, as if physically shaking off his amazement, before coming to a squat in front of us. He put a hand on each of our shoulders, "You look as beautiful as a princess, Ino. All the flowers in the shop pale in comparison to you." Ino blushed and gave him a wide smile, giving him perfect view of two rows of pearly whites, "Thanks, tou-chan!"

Inoichi turned to me and I puffed out my chest on instinct, hoping to present myself in the best light possible. Inoichi chuckled, pinching my cheek a little bit, "Why, Hoshito, you look as handsome as a prince! Are you sure you're only going to work at the flower shop instead of a castle?"

"Thank you tou-chan," I could feel my cheeks warming from his remarks and giggled at how he asked the question, "and nope! Only the flower shop for me."

"Come on, you two," Aiko announced with a clap of her hands, "the flower shop opens in ten minutes."

"Okay, kaa-chan!" Ino and I chorused together, before giggling. Yes, being a twin was definitely a fun thing.

After saying goodbye to Inoichi, the three of us made the walk to the flower shop. The shop was at the edge of the middle of the village and was really only a five minute walk from the Yamanaka district. This was the first time Ino and I had been outside of clan property and seeing Konoha was surreal to say the least. It was a nice sunny day with only a couple lazy clouds drifting overhead and there was a slight breeze in the air. In the middle of Konoha, was a collection of shops and restaurants. It was pretty early in the day, so there weren't too many people out walking on the streets but I did see various shop owners prepping for when their business opened. It was also nearly impossible _not_ to see the gigantic Hokage Monument. Ah, the classic four stone heads; there was also something oddly reassuring to know that some of Konoha's greatest ninjas were watching over you.

Soon we walked into the Yamanaka shop and began to do our part to prep for the business day. Aiko did most of the work, but Ino and I ran around the shop re-arranging flowers and cleaning up fallen leaves. After finishing up this, Aiko turned the sign to read 'open' and gave us a warm smile, "We are open for business!"

Ino and I cheered in answer and it wasn't long until we got busy. It was a little slow-going at first, with a few people trickling in here and there, but it eventually found a steady rhythm of customers entering and leaving the store. Ino and I ran around, gathering various flowers for Aiko to wrap in a bouquet for a customer. On the surface, it seemed like a pretty menial task but I had a hunch that this served a higher purpose. When Aiko would send us on our flower search-and-retrieve for a customer, she would give us only the name. It was pretty easy for the well-known flowers like tulips and daisies but when it came to the more exotic ones, that's where it became trickier. If it weren't for Ino, I have no doubt I would be meandering through the flower shop in search all day. Ino only needed to hear the name, maybe ask a few clarifying questions, before walking off confidently and picking up the correct flower. It was after several requests of exotic flowers and a handful of follow-Ino-to-the-correct-flower walks later that I realized Aiko was testing our knowledge. She was wanting us to apply our knowledge that we had learned from her to the shop. How sneaky of her.

Aiko seemed to notice that Ino was having an easier time searching for the more exotic flowers, so she sent me on the task of picking up fallen flowers. I didn't mind too much cause this was clearly Ino's element and I wanted her to shine. Plus this offered me with an opportunity to interact with customers a bit less and this brought me relief: my cheeks needed the break from smiling and from being so warm. It seemed like each customer that had walked into the shop made it their mission to turn me into a blushing mess. Ino and I received so many compliments on how well we were dressed or how cute we were or how stunning our eyes were and it was all pretty overwhelming. I don't think I've ever been praised that much in either life.

It wasn't till I reached the back of the shop that I noticed a pile of flowers on the floor. I made my way over to the pile, noting five petals and a protruding anther, and silently aww'd at the color. The edges were a warm, muted yellow color and faded into a vibrant orange in the center. I wracked my brain for what this flower was called? What had Ino called it? A hibiscone? No, that didn't sound right. Hibontitis? No, it wasn't that either. It's at the tip of my tongue and I-

A hibiscus!

I snapped my fingers and mentally cheered in triumph as the correct name came to me. Yes, this flower was called a hibiscus. Now what to do with them? The pile of hibiscus flowers amounted to four fallen flowers and they were all in pretty good condition. Normally, the fallen flowers would be too damaged so I had to throw them away. But these were just too good to simply be thrown away and I think I had a pretty good idea what to do with them.

I slipped one of the flowers behind my ear and made my trek through the store, heading to where I sensed Ino's chakra. Her chakra was practically vibrating in joy and excitement. The meadow of flowers that was her chakra, were vivid and swaying happily. I found Ino near the front of the store, waving a customer goodbye with a wide smile, "Thank you and please have a good day!"

"You too, my dear!" the female customer shouted back before the door closed.

I jogged over to Ino, holding the flowers out gently, "Ino, look what I found!"

Ino turned to me and her eyes lit up when she saw the flowers in my hands, "Hibiscus flowers! Wow, these are so pretty and you put one in your hair! Aww, you look so cute!" Ino spoke rapid fire, each word filled with childish wonder and enthusiasm. Her smile was a permanent feature on her face and dear god, Ino let my heart breathe! Her compliment caused warmth to creep onto my face again but I ignored it and slipped a flower behind her ear, "There, now you have one too! It'll be like we're twins."

"We are twins, you dork!" Ino playfully rolled her eyes before giving me a quick hug, "Thank you, though! Now, no one will be able to resist how cute we look!"

Ino's expression turned into a mischievous one and a gleam came into her eyes. This gleam was all too familiar to me, as it came whenever Ino was going to 'play with people.' Ino's victims were mainly clan members but her prime prey was Inoichi. Ino was ingenious when it came to persuading people and toying with their emotions. Ino used puppy dog eyes, could cry on the spot, and smile so sweetly it could break down one's will to refuse her demands. Ino was the perfect Yamanaka because she used every trick at her disposal to toy with someone's mind. However, Ino was still only three and if anything I think she got played more than she thought when it came to our tou-chan. Inoichi was not head of T&I for nothing. There were times after Ino's more...dramatic performances that I felt Inoichi's chakra hum in pride and satisfaction. He was proud that she was already using such emotional and mental moves against someone. These abilities would greatly help her in her shinobi career.

However, I wasn't just about to sit back and let Ino take up the Yamanaka mantel all by herself. Sure, I get flustered easily and I didn't bask in attention as much as Ino did (I was still getting used to it, so give me a break) but I could play people too! I had all of Ino's tricks in my arsenal but I just chose not to use them as bluntly as she did. My favorite thing was to use my initial shyness as a weapon, to soften people up and let their guard down. Then it was the waiting game for the perfect opportunity to strike and...launch myself at people for a hug! Okay, so maybe it didn't really achieve anything as wonderful as say making someone lose their mind, but it was still progress! Ino and I were toddlers, so we had childish goals. Ino's desires were sweets while mine were hugs. I'm sure when we got older, we would get to do the whole mental attack thing and truly manipulate people, but right now this was just fine. Either way, Inoichi's chakra filled with pride for both of us when he saw us exploit people and that's all that really mattered.

 _Ring-a-ling!_

The doorbell to the shop rang, signalling that a customer had entered the store. Since Ino and I were closest to the entryway, we turned to greet them but I froze in my tracks. There standing before us, were three people. They were all kids, with two of them being around mine and Ino's age and the third being maybe ten at the most. My eyes moved over each of them in rapid succession, taking in their dark black hair, pale skin, and nearly colorless eyes. These people belonged to the Hyuuga clan.

 _Holy shit._

I recognized the younger two instantly as Hinata and Neji. Hinata with her short black hair and wide eyes, was staring around at the store in unabashed awe. I couldn't help noticing her stance - it wasn't as if she were trying to make herself disappear, like she had in the anime. Her timidness and anxiousness were nowhere in sight. A few rapid scenes flew by in my head: Hinata getting kidnapped on her third birthday, Hinata getting bullied by a group of kids and Naruto coming to her rescue, Hinata losing confidence in herself and then getting reprimanded for it by her family. Ahh, so these events must have not happened yet. Wait, if Hinata's birthday hadn't happened yet then that meant…my eyes darted to where Neji stood. He had his hands clasped behind his back, his long black hair flowed past his shoulders and his long bangs were swept back over the top of his head to reveal a pale, unmarked forehead. _Unmarked_. The relief that flooded into my being was more than I expected. That means I still have time to save them.

The Hyuuga clan was like a can of worms that no one wanted to open. It was brimming with tension and cruel practices what with the whole main branch and side branch thing going on. It was a dilemma that was going on for who knows how long and guess who was the three year old fool that was going to try and solve it?

Me.

I mean, how could I not?! Hinata and Neji were victims of unfortunate circumstances. Hinata was targeted because of not only her eyes but the fact that she was the eldest child of the head of the Hyuuga clan. Not only did she suffer the traumatic experience of being kidnapped at such a young age, she had to uphold the expectations of her entire clan. Hinata was the firstborn of Hiashi Hyuuga and people expected everything from her. She was to be a strong shinobi, a good leader for her clan, her use of Gentle Fist should be unparalleled, etc. The poor girl would not get the emotional comfort she needed after her kidnapping and would never get it. Her self-esteem and self-respect would wither away with each criticized remark towards her not being good enough. On top of all this, her father would favor her younger sister and constantly remind Hinata how she was weaker than her younger sibling. It was no wonder the girl was so shy and timid in the anime! And Neji - _oh god Neji._ Just by being born into the side branch family, he was marked and deemed less important by those of the main branch family. Neji would grow up with a pessimistic outlook on life, preaching about fate and how one could not escape it. Neji would reluctantly accept his fate, but his heart would never truly be able to hold this ideal. His heart would always yearn for freedom, to be free of the mark on his forehead. And Hizashi...Hizashi's death would be something Neji would never be able to get over. His hatred and resentment towards the main branch family would grow significantly more. He would take his anger out on Hinata who seemingly had the perfect life. She had no mark and her father would still be living, but unbeknownst to him, Hinata would be suffering just as badly as he was.

"Come on, Ito," Ino said, grabbing my hand and pulling me in the direction of the Hyuugas, "we have to greet them."

I nodded, albeit a bit absentmindedly, refocusing my attention on the present situation rather than my thoughts. I would set a time to focus on the Hyuuga problem later. Actually, I should probably just make a time to set up a plan in general. There were so many things that I desired to change in this world and just winging it would get me nowhere. No, I needed a strategy.

Ino walked towards the new customers with confidence, pulling me along the entire way, "Hello, welcome to Yamanaka Flowers!"

Now that I was closer to them, I was able to get a clearer view of what they looked like and boy were the Hyuugas definitely an attractive group of people. There were no other words to describe Hinata other than precious. Her hair was in a short bob cut, she was wearing a light yellow yukata with white leaves dancing across it and she had the softest of smiles on her face. Neji had a sort of elegant air around him and he was dressed the part too. He wore a navy blue yukata with light grey lining the ends of the sleeves and collar. Neji's hair reminded me of a black river from how it just seemed to flow from his scalp and around his shoulders. Neji's eyes were what stood out most to me though; they were gentle. The older male Hyuuga was someone I did not recognize. His hair was covered by a bandana that held Konoha's leaf insignia and given his young age, he must have been a genin. He was in shinobi gear: black long sleeve shirt, black pants that reached just above his ankles and blue ankle ninja sandals. He had a pouch around his waist and a kunai holster on his left thigh. His features were pretty structured and and he had freckles dotting across the bridge of his nose and cheeks.

The chakra that came to me was...different. It didn't take the form as images as it normally would have and instead I could just feel depth and magnitude. The older Hyuuga had above average reserves but I could tell it had quite a dangerous quality to it. Hmm, was it because the Hyuuga members directly use their chakra as a weapon? This would make sense as to why his chakra seemed a bit more sharper, I guess? It was kind of hard to explain, but that's the best I could describe it in words. Neji's and Hinata's chakra reserves were actually quite large, larger than I would think seeing as how young they were. Their chakra was not as sharp as the older Hyuuga's but the consistency was still different. It was kind of like shifting between states: soft then hard, smooth then bumpy, etc. How strange? Maybe being a Hyuuga made their chakra more susceptible to altering in order to be used in the Gentle Fist form? Even when they haven't used it before?

I mentally shrugged and when I pulled myself out of my thoughts, I realized I had zoned out while staring directly into the older male Hyuuga's eyes. A familiar warmth seared my cheeks and _oh god_ , this was so embarrassing! The boy rose an eyebrow and his mouth quirked upwards in an amused way.

"My name is Ino," Ino's voice pulled the boy's gaze from mine and I silently thanked her, "and this is my twin brother…" Ino stopped and turned to gesture towards me, wanting me to say my own introduction, but that didn't happen. Having not one, not two, _but three_ pairs of Hyuuga all-seeing eyes on you was too much for my small being to handle. My face, which hadn't really got the chance to get rid of the heat on my cheeks, flushed with full force and it felt like someone could have cooked eggs on them. I let out a strange high pitched noise in answer before quickly hiding behind Ino's back and away from their gazes.

I buried my head even further when I heard their laughter.

"This is Ito," Ino giggled, reaching around to pat my side reassuringly, "and that sound he made means that he likes you."

Their laughter started up again and I pouted, "Ino!"

"Oh, Kō-kun!" Aiko said warmly, walking up to where we stood, "It's been a while since I last saw you. I see you've made genin, congratulations!"

"Hello, Aiko-san," Kō said with a kind smile, "and thank you. I too am satisfied with my accomplishment."

Kō Hyuuga. A series of scenes ran through my head: Kō taking Hinata home after Naruto saved her from bullies and him telling Hinata to steer clear from Naruto, Kō with a broken leg watching in worry as Hinata fought against Pain to save Naruto, and Kō arguing with Hiashi that Hinata should lead in the Fourth Great Shinobi War instead of Neji. The scenes were fleeting but I got the gist that Kō was someone who cared greatly for Hinata.

"And who might these two children be?" Aiko asked, her smile widening.

"These are my two little cousins: Hinata-chan and Neji-kun." Kō answered, "I am here to discuss with you about some flower arrangements for Hinata-chan's third birthday next week."

Next week?!

That was much too soon! I didn't even have a plan ready for crying out loud! Ugh and to think I thought I had the luxury of thinking all of this over at a later time. How in the world was I going to pull something out of my ass in time for her birthday party? Wait, _how_ was I even going to _get_ to her birthday party? If I wasn't even invited then I would have zero chance of doing anything. I doubt Aiko or Inoichi would let their three year old son leave the house in the middle of the night to fight an enemy ninja. Oh man, what was I going to do? My mind raced for an answer.

Well if first impressions were anything to go by, they already saw me as someone incredibly shy. Maybe I could use this to my advantage...

"Ah, that's right! Please follow me to the counter and I can show you a book to view all the flowers we have available," Aiko instructed, "I'm sure Hinata-chan and Neji-kun will be in good hands." Kō glanced at his cousins before glancing at us and nodding in confirmation. Aiko walked away first, heading to the counter with Kō not far behind her.

It was quiet for a couple of seconds, before Ino nudged me with her arm. I turned to her, a questioning look on my face, but she lightly coughed in answer. The meaning may not have been clear to someone else, but to me I heard her loud and clear. _"Quit playing shy and start talking. These could be potential friends!"_

Ino and I had the whole twin communication thing coded in simple gestures. It worked wonders when we conned someone for sweets and hugs, but it really it had its uses in all situations. Another thing about the two of us was that we couldn't really use manipulations on each other. We knew each other's mind games in and out, so it wasn't too surprising that Ino caught on to what I was doing. Well, there's no fun once you got caught right?

I gathered myself together, took a deep breath and stepped forwards, "You two have very pretty eyes!"

Ino giggled at my loud statement, while Hinata and Neji blinked at me in surprise. A light pink dusted both of their cheeks as they smiled at me and really what is it with all these kids being so darn cute?! First Ino and now these two?

"Thank you Ito-kun." Hinata said, bowing her head a little to hide her pink cheeks.

"Yes, thank you Ito-kun," Neji replied, not looking at all embarrassed by his flushed cheeks, "and I must say that you have pretty eyes yourself! They remind me of gems."

"Ah, so you think my brother's eyes are pretty do you?!" Ino teased and there was that familiar mischievous gleam in her eyes again, "What else do you like about him?"

I narrowed my eyes a little and turned towards her but she refused to meet my gaze. Instead she was giving Neji a curious and all too innocent gaze. Ino...where are you going with this? As if in answer to my thought, Ino casually brought up a hand and twirled her ponytail and that's when I got it: Ino was setting me up with a chance to deliver the final blow!

"O-oh," Neji blinked, a little caught off guard, "I suppose his smile is nice. It really lights up his face."

Ino hummed in answer before reaching over and pinching my cheek, "Yes, my little brother is pretty cute. Isn't he?"

Neji's cheeks got pinker and he opened and closed his mouth, but no words came out. "Ino, you shouldn't tease our new friends like that," I spoke up, coming to his rescue, "you don't want to scare them off too quick."

A pause.

"Friends?" Hinata whispered in shock.

There it is.

"Well, yeah!" I gave the two Hyuugas a closed eye smile, "I already consider us friends."

This was Ino's goal: to obtain new friends for the two of us. Of course, I should have known! Having friends is like the holy grail of being a kid! Ino was working towards this all along and I had to admire how crafty she was setting this all up. Now the least I could do was wrap it up.

"Unless," my voice lowered in sadness and my face dropped, "you two don't want to be our friends."

Ino, you wonderful twin sister you! You have just inadvertently given me the wonderful opportunity to initiate my plan on saving Hinata and Neji! And the answer was so obvious, too! As my position of a friend, I would be in a better spot to help people. Becoming close with the Konoha Twelve would put me in the center of everything and would give me the best spot to protect them from danger. It would also give me a chance to get to know the characters on a more personal level instead of keeping what I had learned through a screen. This was simply perfect!

"No!" the two Hyuugas chorused together, before giving sheepish smiles.

"We don't want that!" Hinata clarified.

"We would love to be your friends!" Neji confirmed.

And that's what you call a Yamanaka hustle.

"That's fantastic!" Ino shouted, a genuine smile lighting up her face, "I bet we're all going to be such good friends!"

"Here, to show that we are friends," I walked closer to the two Hyuugas and placed a hibiscus flower behind each of their ears, "I'm giving you two these."

Hinata and Neji stared at me with twinkling eyes, their mouths slightly open in awe. Oh please, tell me they won't start crying? Hinata quickly wiped her eyes to clear away the tears that were starting to build up and Neji was blinking rapidly, trying to get rid of his own tears. Were they really that happy?

Wait a second...were Ino and I their first friends? I looked at Hinata and Neji in a new light, taking in their watery eyes and wide smiles. Yes, I suppose we were.

"There's no need to thank me, cause this is what friends are for!" I explained, hoping to save myself from being the cause of two crying Hyuugas, "But if you must think of it as something…"

I turned to Neji and gave him the brightest smile ever to grace my face, "Neji, the flower is a gift because I think you're a pretty cute kid." Neji's cheeks flushed a darker shade of pink and he straightened up in surprise. Good, now he wasn't focused on the fact that he gained his first friends and was now focused on my compliment. That or he was focused on how I had just called him 'Neji' with no honorific.

Oh well.

"Hinata," I turned towards the dark haired girl, "you can think of the flower as an early birthday present. Your birthday is next week, right?"

"Yes, it is!" came her excited reply.

"That's so cool!" I echoed her excitement back, "Oh! What would be cooler is if we could _go_ to your birthday party! Wouldn't that be so cool, Ino?"

I turned towards my twin sister, silently imploring her to go along but I didn't need to. Ino was practically jumping in excitement, "We've never been to someone else's birthday party before! Hinata please say yes so we can go!"

"I would love it if you guys could come!" Hinata's face was bright with excitement of her own, "I will ask my tou-san when I get home. I'm sure he would also love it if my f-friends could come to my birthday party!"

Hinata stuttered on the word 'friends,' as if she couldn't quite believe what had happened, but was remarkably happy about the turn of events.

"You were right, Aiko-san," Kō's voice broke through our little group, "my cousins were indeed in good hands."

The four of us turned around towards Kō's voice and saw Aiko and Kō standing a couple steps behind us. Kō had a couple sheets of paper in hand and was staring at us with a small smile on his face while Aiko had a more noticeable happy smile on her face.

"I see the four of them have become fast friends," Aiko observed, her smile widening.

"Thank you for your services Aiko-san," Kō bowed to Aiko before rising, "You shall receive payment for the flowers on the day of the delivery. I wish we could stay longer, but Hinata-chan and Neji-kun need to be home soon for lunch."

At this, the two mentioned Hyuugas' shoulders sagged in sadness and their gazes flickered towards me and Ino. I didn't need to feel their chakra to know that they wanted to stay longer with their new friends.

"I will also ask for Hiashi-san's permission for your children to be invited to Hinata-chan's birthday," Kō continued, noticing his cousins' disappointment in leaving so soon, "perhaps I can convince him to invite the children of the other head clans as well."

I blinked in surprise and stared at Kō with a slightly open mouth. If Kō was successful...then I would be meeting many familiar people at Hinata's birthday party. Chōji, Shikamaru, Sasuke, Itachi, Shino, Kiba, Hana...the list of head clan children ran through my head.

Was I really going to meet them all so soon?

"You are very welcome Kō-kun," Aiko answered, her voice warm, "and I think that would be a splendid idea. It would be wonderful if they all became friends and what a more wonderful place to bond than a birthday party?"

"Yes, I agree," Kō answered, before turning to smile gently at his cousins, "Neji-kun, Hinata-chan, I believe it is time for us to head back home."

Hinata furrowed her brows and the corners of her lips turned downwards and looked as if she were about to cry again. Neji's lower lip jutted forwards and he crossed his arms with a huff, pouting.

"Aw, don't be sad," Ino reassured them, "we'll see you all at Hinata's birthday party, for sure!"

"B-but…" Hinata sniffed and hastily wiped away a tear, "we wanted to spend more time with you."

"We just got here!" Neji objected, his voice a little shaky, "And you guys are our first friends so that's why we don't want to leave you so soon!"

At this point, Hinata's tears were falling in a steady stream and Neji's eyes were pooling in tears of his own, threatening to spill over at any point. Their chakra shot out towards me, forcing me to feel what they were feeling: anguish, sadness, worry, and longing. They really didn't want to go…

Were friends really held in such high regard? I knew that Naruto held his friendships on such a high pedestal because of his lonely childhood. He cherished all of his bonds and refused to let any of his close ones go without a fight (Sasuke was a prime example). Staring at Neji and Hinata as they cried over being seperated of their newly appointed friends, friends for not even an hour might I add, I felt my heart open for the two even more. I walked towards the two and pulled each of them into a hug, an action causing the two to emit surprised gasps, "I don't want to be far from either of you either, but we will see one another soon. You don't have to worry about us being separated for long because that's what friends do. Even if we have to leave, we will always come back! Friends stick together, no matter what!"

Ino came to the other side of them and the two Hyuugas were in the middle of what I liked to call a Yamanaka sandwich - a move we only gave to someone of high value (i.e. Aiko, Inoichi and Fū).

Neji and Hinata shook within the embrace with emotion, before they wrapped their arms around Ino and I's torsos, returning our hug.

"Your children are...very interesting, Aiko-san." Kō's voice came out softly in what I can only guess was bewildered awe.

"I'm well aware," Aiko replied in a knowing yet fond tone, "I thank the universe everyday for gifting me with them."

The four of us huddled our heads together, with Hinata and Neji giving us thankful yet watery smiles while Ino and I gave the Hyuugas genuine smiles. Yes, we started with a ploy to gain friends but the intentions were good. A win-win situation.

"You may find it odd," Kō began, a thoughtful tilt to his voice, "but I think you'll find that others will thank the universe for their existence as well."

Aiko hummed in answer, her chakra was swirling in feelings of love and something I couldn't quite put my finger on…gratification maybe?

We all pulled away from the hug with gentle smiles on each of our faces. The Hyuugas' previous worries were no longer in sight and a sort of reassured happiness filled the atmosphere of our little huddle. Hinata and Neji wiped away the last of their tears while I rearranged the hibiscus flowers behind their ears.

"Come along you two," Kō gently ordered, "I will make sure you four are reunited again."

Hinata and Neji nodded and with one last hug goodbye to each Ino and I, the three of them made their way to the door. Kō opened the door, allowing Hinata and Neji to walk through first, but before moving to go through himself, he stopped. Turning to look at Ino and I, he smiled, "Thank you."

With that the three Hyuugas left Yamanaka Flowers.

It now seemed I would be saving Hinata and Neji not because I wanted to, but that I needed to. Being reincarnated into the Naruto world with full knowledge, I thought there was nothing new that could surprise me. But maybe...I was here for a purpose. For the purpose of changing the fate of the Naruto world, I'm not entirely sure. But perhaps I was here for multiple purposes and one of them was the purpose to learn.

My thoughts revolved around my family, Hinata, Neji and even people I have yet to meet like Naruto and Sakura.

I was beginning to see the concept of friendship in a new light; it was something far more valuable than I had previously thought.

The purpose to learn, indeed.

What else would I learn in this world?

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

"With the rebels apprehended and the crown safely retrieved, the kingdom was at peace once more. The witty prince and the outspoken ninja were soon married and lived happily ever after. The end." Inoichi's soothing voice washed over mine and Ino's ears before Inoichi closed the book softly.

Inoichi was reading the fairytale book I had gotten for my first birthday and it was easily my favorite. It was a tale about a prince who was about to become king, but couldn't due to a corrupted adviser who wanted to become king himself. The advisor had people under his command and the group were labelled as rebels and they acted to assassinate the prince. The prince's mother, the queen, requested the aid of a well-renowned ninja to protect the prince and act as a bodyguard. The prince was a fierce fighter of his own and felt that he didn't need the help of the ninja and the two had an initial disliking of one another. However, their relationship soon changed when they were forced to work and protect one another against the rebels. Long story, short: they succeeded and they ended up falling in love with one another. It was my favorite not because of there being two strong-willed heroes, good triumphing evil, or there being a badass queen. No, it was my favorite because of the representation.

The ninja was male.

The prince married the ninja! It was a gay relationship!

Thinking about the Naruto anime, I knew there were a lot of gender norms that were broken down. What with male ninjas having painted nails, wearing crop tops, etc. There was no discrimination against them. I guess if there were no objection to self-expression then there would be no objection to what gender one preferred. This book was in clear support of an LGBT+ relationship and the fact that I got it at such a young age, encouraged openness. Although, the anime didn't really specify on the orientational diversity, the hints were very clear.

It gave me hope.

"...Tou-chan?" I asked hesitantly.

"Yes, Hoshito?" Inoichi looked down at me with a curious expression, but his eyes remained as it always was when he spoke to me, Ino or Aiko; it was filled with affection.

"What if I told you…" my voice trailed off and worry began to seep into my mind. From what I remembered of my old world, being a member of the LGBT+ community came along with hardships. It wasn't accepted everywhere, to put it lightly.

"Told me what, Hoshito?" Inoichi's voice became a little concerned and he rubbed my back reassuringly, "You can tell me anything you want. You know that, right Hoshito?"

He had always told me and Ino that from a very young age. Ino remained quiet, but she reached over and held my hand, giving it a comforting squeeze.

I nodded in answer and took a deep breath, steeling myself, "What if I told you that I wanted to find a prince of my own someday? Like the ninja in the story did?"

"Then I would tell you I hope you find a good prince." Inoichi said, no hesitation or unkindness in his voice.

I was shocked at how readily he replied and of his answer, "You're not mad?"

"Mad?" Inoichi's voice was confused, "Why would I be mad, Hoshito?"

"Isn't it a little bit...weird that I like boys instead of girls?" I tried to word my thought process, "You're a boy too but you like kaa-chan. So aren't you mad that I don't want to find a kaa-chan of my own one day?"

Inoichi reached under my armpits and pulled me up until I was eye level with him, but I refused to meet his gaze out of nervousness. What if he really was mad? What if the love they once held for me...was gone?

"Hoshito, look at me," Inoichi gently asked and I rose my eyes to meet his, "do I look mad to you?"

I stared into Inoichi's sea green eyes and found the familiar warmth of affection in his gaze - it hadn't changed even a little bit. And his chakra...it still resonated deeply with love and the familiar protective hold was still wrapped firmly around mine. Tears began to prick my eyes and I shook my head, not trusting my voice to speak.

"Hoshito, I love you with my entire heart," Inoichi spoke, "and I would never be mad at you for something like this. Your heart would never lie to you and if your heart wants to be with someone of the same gender, then who am I to get angry over that fact? Love is something to be cherished and is one of the gifts of life. I only wish for your happiness, Hoshito. I would do _anything_ for you and your sister. There is nothing in this world that would ever make me stop loving you two."

The tears were falling freely now and a sob left my throat as I threw my arms around Inoichi's neck. Inoichi was quick to return my hug and held me tightly as I cried into his shoulder. Ino had upgraded her hold on my hand and was now holding it tightly in between two of her own, silently telling me of her support too.

"I'm not sure what gave you the notion that I would be mad, Hoshito," Inoichi continued, rubbing my back in a consoling manner, "there are plenty of same gender relationships everywhere. It is quite a normal concept and that's why this book was given to you. It is to encourage openness. While your book is about two people of the same gender falling in love, Ino's book is about two people of a different gender falling in love. This was to make sure the two of you grew up knowing of the different kinds of love there are in this world and also to let you know that you two can love whoever you want to love."

I squeezed Inoichi tighter and closed my eyes, releasing a sigh. I let myself be comforted by Inoichi and Ino's chakra, feeling their feelings of love. There were no words to describe how utterly... _serene_ I felt. It felt as if a weight I didn't know I was holding had been lifted off of my shoulders and now I was free!

I could truly be myself.

"What's wrong with Hoshito-kun?" Aiko's voice filled the room, worry clear in her tone.

"Hoshito has told me he likes boys," Inoichi explained, "and he was worried I would be mad, but I think it goes a little deeper than that."

"Oh, Hoshito…" Aiko whispered, catching on to the situation right away.

It wasn't long until I was in Aiko's arms, "You know that we love you unconditionally, right? There is nothing in this world, and I mean _nothing_ , that could ever get us to stop loving you. You are my little boy, my little Hoshito-kun. What would I be if I didn't have you in my life? You, Ino, and Inoichi are my entire life. To think that you would be so fearful of telling us something that makes you, you-" Aiko's voice broke off with emotion and she hugged me even tighter.

"I'm sorry that you even had to worry about this!" Aiko rushed out in a sob, "I should have let you known sooner...I should have-"

"No! Don't think like that!" I said, crying even harder because _I had just made Aiko cry_ , "You are wonderful, kaa-chan! You and tou-chan are great parents! I wouldn't trade either of you, not even for…" my thoughts suddenly filled with the thought of my old parents, "not even for the world."

 _Not even for them_ , was what I wanted to say.

My love for them was all encompassing; my heart was only filled with people of this world now.

It was a giant group hug now, with me in the center. Ino had snuggled her way into the center and was clutching onto my side with such ferocity that I would have been surprised, if I wasn't more surprised at the tears that were falling from her eyes and onto my arms. Aiko and Inoichi were on either side of us, completing the hug.

A Yamanaka sandwich, I thought with a ghost of a smile.

It was quite a while before we pulled away from the group hug. I wiped away the last of my tears and sniffed, before facing the worried gazes of my family members.

"T-thank you," I whispered, giving them the best smile I could muster, "I really needed that."

Inoichi reached out to hold my face in his hands, wiping away the tear tracks on my cheeks with his thumbs, before laying a kiss on my forehead, "We love you so much, Hoshito. Please, do not ever forget this fact."

The love I was feeling from their chakras had _tripled_ and I was practically swimming in their compassion. The tender emotion filled my entire being and I felt it in my very core.

No, I do not think I would ever forget their love for me.

"I promise." I whispered.

Inoichi gently smiled at me, giving me cheeks one last swipe, before releasing me. Aiko was next to latch onto my cheeks, grabbing me and pulling me in to pepper my face in kisses, whispering 'I love you' in between each kiss. I giggled and when Aiko finally pulled away, my lips were the only place on my face left untouched from her own.

"You're such a _dork_!," Ino stated grumpily, but she was wiping away tears of her own, "you're my other half Hoshito! If you thought, I would be mad or stop loving you-" Ino threw her arms around me once more and pulled me into another hug, "you thought wrong! It's _unthinkable_ and I don't want you to ever think like that way ever again. So if I hear you doubting us again I'll...I'll…"

Ino didn't finish because she broke out in sobs. Ino squeezed me with such a force it was almost hard to breathe but I returned her hug just as hard. It took awhile for her to calm down, but once she did she pulled away and lightly pinched my arm, "Just don't _ever_ doubt us again, okay Hoshito?"

Her voice came out firm in the beginning but by the end, her voice became almost desperate in her question. I must have really worried her - no, all of them.

"I promise, I won't."

"Good," she hiccuped, "and before you say anything, I always had a suspicion. Why did you think I said what I said to Neji, today?"

Wait, what?!

"You knew?!" I asked in astonishment.

"You really shouldn't be surprised," Ino said and flipped her hair, already regaining her composure, "our twin connection is there after all, Ito."

Ah, the use of my nickname meant everything was back to the way it was. And I suppose she was right...the twin connection thing was an enigma to me and I didn't really know how it worked but I guess it made sense how she knew. Twins are connected after all.

"Who is this Neji?" Inoichi asked, curiously, "Is he a boy?"

"Neji Hyuuga and yes, he is." Aiko answered, "Neji-kun arrived at the shop along with Kō-kun and Hinata-chan, Hiashi-san's daughter."

"Neji and Hinata are our friends now," Ino supplied helpfully, "we're also going to be invited to Hinata's birthday next week!"

"Kō-kun also mentioned something of inviting the other clan head's children to the party as well," Aiko hummed, "it should be quite the gathering."

"Congratulations, you two! You made your first friends today!" Inoichi paused for a moment, a thoughtful expression on his face, "And you like this boy, Hoshito?"

The thought of Neji and I together caused heat to creep into my cheeks, "N-no! I do not like him like that!"

"Oh, come on! You so do!" Ino giggled, "You should have been there, tou-chan, Neji was totally flirting! He said Ito's eyes were like gems and that he really liked Ito's smile and I could just _tell_ they liked one another!"

"Ino!" I grumbled, my face was beginning to feel hotter and I had no doubt I was going to look like a tomato soon.

"Ah, but I saw the entire thing." Aiko sang out, a teasing smile on her face, "What Ino says is true and it was all very cute. So innocent, so carefree...ahh young love."

I groaned and buried my face into my hands. It was really no use trying to stop them, because once they were set on teasing there was no stopping them. Oh gosh, I didn't like Neji like that! I mean sure he was adorable and he would no doubt grow up to be very attractive. And his personality was very sweet and his eyes were so gentle and…

Okay I'm just gonna stop that train right there before it leads to somewhere I didn't want it to.

"Only three years old and already the boys are lining up," Inoichi let out a mock-irritated sigh, "of course I should have known it was only a matter of time. But, so soon! Oh, woe is me! My little Hoshito is all grown up!"

"Tou-chan!" I put my hands down and glared half-heartedly at Inoichi's own amused gaze, "Not you too!"

"Okay, okay!" Inoichi put his hands up in surrender, "On a serious note, any boy you find yourself romantically involved with will have to eventually meet me and your kaa-chan. They have to get our approval because you only deserve the best! But, I'm sure this Neji boy is very kind and he seems like he has good intentions. A Hyuuga, too! Who knew they were so expressive in their affections. Why, I must say-"

"Tou-chan!" I covered my ears to block out whatever he was going to say next but it proved futile.

My hands did nothing to block out the sounds of laughter coming from my family's mouths. It was infectious and I couldn't help but crack a smile of my own, before I too joined in their laughter.

My 'coming out' was much better than I expected.

Yes, today was a very good day.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, wow, there are a whole lot of things going on! I hope this wasn't too rushed or the flow wasn't too uneven. I just wanted to lay a foundation to be further built upon in the story and I hope this lays out a somewhat even ground that you guys can all understand. This chapter was really a ride for me to write and I'm not gonna lie, towards the end of it I was tearing up. I know that for some members of the LGBT+ community, some people's coming out isn't a well-received news. This is why for Hoshito's moment I wanted to share a good reaction - a reaction as it should be. The Naruto world is accepting and open, something so vividly different from our own. I hope that one day, there wouldn't even be a need to 'come out' as it would just be another thing considered to be common. Because love as well as LGBT+ individuals have been here forever. I will never understand why people would discriminate another for something as simple as expressing themselves for who they are or who they love (or rather don't). If they're not hurting anybody, then why stop it? Love is love and it knows no bounds. If you are part of the LGBT+ community and if you have come out yet or haven't, I hope this little section of Hoshito gave you hope. There will be people who accept you and love you unconditionally. You are valid. You matter. You are worthy of the love you deserve and crave. You deserve to express yourself to the fullest. To those of you not apart of the LGBT+ community, I hope this moment provides a little glimpse of what 'coming out' means and how significant this event is.**

 **Phew, now that that's off my chest, I'm glad I established this and you now have better insight on Hoshito's character as well as the others. This update was just an introduction to Hoshito and Ino's twin dynamic and you'll be seeing them 'play with people' a whole lot. Yamanaka's and their mind games, am I right? Also in terms of love interests for Hoshito, Neji is one of them but he certainly won't be the only one. I think you'll like how it'll pan out and maybe I can even surprise you in who is a love interest and who he ends up with.**

 **Also, if you noticed I didn't use the Japanese terms for 'little brother' and 'cousin' and it's just a personal preference that I write it as such. Hope this didn't bother anyone too much.**

 **You all finally know what Hoshito looks like! Does he fulfill your expectations? Hoshito also got to finally meet some familiar people in the form of the Hyuugas! What did you guys think of their interaction with one another? Hoshito will be eventually meeting all of your Naruto world favorites but don't worry it won't be all at once, to keep it more realistic. Or will it? Stay tuned to find out!**

 **A giant, warm chocolate chip cookie for your thoughts?**


	4. Chapter 4: Self-Awareness

**A/N: Okay. I know, I know. This update has taken such an ungodly amount of time and I'm super late and this definitely is not what I intended. College has just been really grinding my butt and now it's winter break so I've been traveling for the holidays but I'm here now! I will strive to do better with my updates. Also thank you to everyone for the wonderful feedback on Hoshito's coming out! You all have filled my heart with such warmth!**

 **So without further adieu, I present to you the (long awaited for) next chapter :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Self-Awareness**

It was days like these that I looked forward to the most.

Today was one of Inoichi's rare days off and he usually dedicated this time with Ino and I, except this time was a bit different. He took us into the backyard under the guise of 'getting some fresh air' but I'm pretty sure he had some ulterior motive behind it. I would have gone into overthinking mode, but as soon as I stepped outside all thoughts left my head.

It was the kind of day where it wasn't too hot nor too cold. The sun was out, shining it's warmth down onto the world, with only a few lazy-drifting clouds interrupting the golden performance. There was a slight breeze in the air, but it was refreshingly cool. Our backyard seemingly had no limit, as there was no fence or tell-tale sign of where our property ended. There were multiple trees littering the yard, along with various flower patches, and in the center was a particularly large tree. Each tree created its own oasis of shade but the center tree may as well have created an ocean. Even from the entrance of the back door to the house, I could tell the tree was _huge._ It's foliage had an impressive expanse and I had no doubt that it could fit a party of people comfortably in it's shade.

"Come along you two," Inoichi said, placing a hand on both mine and Ino's shoulders, "let's head for that large tree in the middle."

Ino skipped off ahead towards the tree, stopping along the way to pick up some brightly colored flowers. I smiled and shook my head in amusement - Ino and her flowers were definitely an inseparable pair. I slowed my walk, stepping to the left a little, and grabbed Inoichi's left hand to hold as we made our trek to the tree. Inoichi squeezed my hand, causing me to look up at him, "Do you like the new clothes I got you?"

I glanced down at the mentioned clothes. Inoichi had gotten Ino and I new clothes as a surprise and I actually really liked them. He had gotten me a strawberry red tank top, sunny yellow cotton shorts, and white sandals. Ino had gotten pretty much the same thing except she had different colors: soft green tank top, purple cotton shorts and grey sandals. It was the perfect sunny day outfit, as the shorts came down to the middle of my thighs so my whole outfit allowed a lot of my skin to soak in the fresh air.

"I love them, tou-chan!" I smiled brightly up at him, "And I know for a fact Ino likes the new clothes too. Right, Ino!" I shouted the last part out to my twin sister who didn't hesitate to respond with a loud, "Yeah!"

Inoichi chuckled, "Well, I'm glad you two think that way; I'm happy you two are happy."

We soon reached the tree, entering the oceanic amount of shade and sat down a little way away from the trunk of the tree. Ino had amassed a wide variety of brightly colored flowers and was looking at her collection with an appraising eye. Then she set her flowers down, selected two to hold and began tying the ends together. Inoichi lightly coughed, effectively gaining the both of our attentions. Underneath the canopy of leaves from the tree, it allowed hardly any sunlight to filter down onto us. So it was quite interesting to see Inoichi sitting in one of the only illuminated spots. The light was moving a little bit, shifting as the leaves blew in the wind. It illuminated his entire face and shifted to his chest then back again. His emerald eyes glittered in the sunlight.

"I bet the two of you are wondering why I brought you out here, so I will get straight to the point," Inoichi announced, "I brought the two of you out here to start your training."

My mouth dropped open into a wide smile.

We were going to start training!? My mind raced with the possibilities of what training would entail. I always knew that to survive in the Naruto world and to carry out the tasks I wanted to, I would have to become a shinobi. Training now, at such a young age, would give me the head start I needed to become a formidable opponent. Inoichi teaching us personally meant that he was going to teach us the clan's jutsus. It would definitely be a perk being able to attack someone mentally, where not a lot of people had a defense for.

"However, before we begin I would like to ask you both a question," Inoichi's voice turned serious, "do the both of you want to become shinobi?"

The question caught me a little off guard. I had always figured that being apart of a clan that was mostly made of up ninjas, that I would have to join in regardless of my opinion. I had accepted it because I was going to become a shinobi anyways, but the fact that I now knew I had a choice was…sweet.

"It's alright if you two don't want to become shinobi," Inoichi continued, "it is a very dangerous life after all. Ninjas aren't guaranteed a long life and it means constant danger. As a parent talking to his children, I would want you two to live a long life. So if you choose not to go down this path, then I will still train you to defend yourself physically but I cannot teach you any shinobi moves. Either way, I will not let either of you off into this world defenseless."

It was moments like these that I really got an insight into just _how much_ Inoichi loved us and every time I found his love to be immeasurable. Inoichi truly loved Ino and I with his entire heart. He continuously put in effort to make sure we were happy and now he was ensuring that we would go off into the world safely. I was really lucky to have Inoichi as my father.

"Alternatively, becoming a ninja means good things as well," Inoichi stared deeply into each of our eyes, "it means that you will be able to grow into strong individuals. Becoming strong means you will be able to protect the ones you love as well as the village. There is pride when it comes to protecting your home village but there is an even greater pride in being able to protect the ones you hold most dear."

Images of the ones I loved most flashed by in my mind, as well as the images of people I had yet to meet but wanted to save. Yes, I needed to become strong enough to protect them.

To protect all of them.

"Now that you know a little bit of each choice," Inoichi's voice was soft yet firm, echoing in the clearing of our backyard, "what is your decision?"

"I would like to become a shinobi, tou-chan." Ino's voice startled me both in the tone and speed. Ino had spoken immediately with no uncertainty and there was an edge in her words that allowed no room to question her decision.

Inoichi nodded in answer and turned to look at me. I met his gaze unflinchingly, "I choose to become a shinobi, as well, tou-chan."

"I see," Inoichi hummed before a proud smile came upon his face, "I should have known the two of you would choose this. You both are too mischievous and cunning and I have no doubt that you will both be one of the best ninjas Konoha has ever seen."

I sat up straighter and puffed my chest out in pride. I looked over at Ino just in time to see her flip her hair back and smile proudly at Inoichi.

"However, you're not at that point yet," Inoichi chuckled at the way Ino and I deflated at his words, "but don't worry. I'll help you get to that point and the first step is to train."

"Now before I begin, I'm going to introduce you the fields a shinobi can specialize in," Inoichi held up a finger, the perfect go-to pose for lecturing, "A shinobi can specialize in virtually anything, but I won't be getting to that just yet. Today, I'll be starting off with the three main core categories: ninjutsu, taijutsu and genjutsu."

Oh yeah, I kind of forgot about those. I suppose it would be a good idea to start thinking about that kind of stuff, huh? Being a master of ninjutsu would no doubt make me a powerhouse on the battlefield. I would be able to take out large amount of enemies or overpowered bad guys with one jutsu. But the payoff would be expending large amounts of chakra and I'm not too sure about that aspect. I was pretty sure I had good chakra reserves, but I'm not sure I would have enough stamina as say Sasuke or even Naruto. Of course Naruto is a special case, but he's a prime example nonetheless. Maybe a lot of training would help? Taijutsu was appealing because there's nothing more satisfying than punching someone you didn't like in the face. Becoming a master in the category would definitely help me make a name for myself. Might Gai and Rock Lee were incredibly strong in this field and on second thought, maybe becoming a master wasn't for me. The kind of dedication and tenacity to keep up with physical beasts like them wasn't _too_ appealing. I wasn't too keen on practicing every available free time I had. So, I guess all that's left is genjutsu. Genjutsu was heavily based on illusions and fooling your enemy from reality. The only master I knew of was Kurenai Yuhi and in the anime, there wasn't a lot of moments for her to showcase her talent. The only arguable person I saw enough genjutsu use out of would be Itachi Uchiha. From his use of genjutsu it seemed to me that the title should have gone to him rather than Kurenai. Albeit, Itachi had the help of his sharingan in his illusions but the talent was still there. Pulling off genjutsu was a move Itachi did often and allowed him to practically comatose his opponents or allow him a speedy getaway. Hmm, genjutsu was sounding pretty appealing actually.

"Taijutsu is something that does not require any chakra and is essentially hand-to-hand combat. This form is achieved by accessing one's mental and physical energies to optimize their physical capabilities; greatly enhancing one's stamina and strength." Inoichi explained, "Next is ninjutsu, which, depending on the jutsu cast, uses a certain amount of chakra. To accurately cast a jutsu, one must first be able to properly utilize chakra and know the correct hand seals. However, this is simply the first step to using ninjutsu but you will learn more about this on another day. The final category is genjutsu, which is a form that also uses chakra. This form allows the user to cast illusions on their opponent and can be versatile but is limited to the extent of the user's imagination."

Inoichi paused, letting this information sink in, before continuing, "Do not expect to be training any of these forms until you are deemed ready to do so. Chakra is very dangerous if not used correctly, so we will wait until you are both older before doing anything dealing with chakra."

"Then what are we going to be doing to train, tou-chan?" Ino asked, pulling on her newly made flower crown she had been working on during his speech.

"I'm glad you asked, Ino," Inoichi commented, "we will be meditating."

Wait, what?!

"Meditating, tou-chan?" I asked, a bit confused.

How was meditating going to help me do anything? I needed to learn at least how to wield a kunai or something! Hinata's birthday party was in less than a week and I needed some way to defend against the enemy ninja in case I had to. If I couldn't get help in time, then the only person capable of protecting Hinata would be me. Okay yeah, a three year old against a fully fledged adult isn't the most difficult of situations, but I was the last line of defense.

I would have to be enough.

"Meditation has many benefits, Hoshito, but it is _especially_ important for shinobi," Inoichi kindly explained, "Meditation is encouraged for up-and-coming shinobi to practice before working with chakra techniques. This allows them to familiarize themselves with their own chakra and, as an extension, will better help them be able to utilize it in the future. Another way meditation can benefit shinobi, is as a coping mechanism. As a shinobi, you will find yourselves in situations where you will be forced to choose between the value of a life: the life of a loved one and the life of someone who threatens those you love."

I blinked, my mind finally processing his words that had taken a sudden dark turn. But this _was_ the reality of the Naruto world and I guess I had to appreciate the fact that Inoichi wasn't sugar coating it for us.

Inoichi continued on, "As a shinobi, you may find yourself meditating to recenter yourself after a kill. The first kill is the hardest but over time you will find it becomes easier. I know this may sound like it will be impossible, but just remember it is all in the name of protecting those that you love. This motivation will enable you to do things you never imagined you would do before."

I had no illusions that I would be able to go in this career without killing, but it didn't sit well with me either way. I mean it was another human life we were talking about! I wasn't sure how I would be able to carry through with that action, but the way Inoichi put it...I would ultimately be acting to ensure that those I loved lived. So I should be just fine, right?

"Meditation is critical to those of the Yamanaka clan," Inoichi continued, changing the topic, "It allows us to strengthen our mental prowess as well as expand our mental capacities. The Yamanaka specializes in mind jutsus and attacks where most ninja have virtually little to no defense. However, our jutsus can be counteracted by strong will of another or even clever use of chakra. In order to increase the chance of success, we must prepare and ensure that our mental abilities will be able to overpower that of our enemies."

"Now that you know a little bit more on meditation, let's begin," Inoichi instructed, "First you must make sure to get into a comfortable position and relax your mind." I adjusted my legs to where I was sitting with my legs crossed and watched as Ino got into a similar sitting position.

"Close your eyes," Inoichi guided us, his voice as light as a feather, "and begin familiarizing yourselves with your mind."

I did as Inoichi told and closed my eyes. I'm not gonna lie, I didn't start meditating right away. I was too distracted by my other senses. The feel of the breeze as it ghosted across my exposed skin and weaved through my hair. I could hear the song of several birds somewhere in the distance, it was faint but serene nonetheless. The chakra of both Inoichi and Ino were calm, slowly circulating throughout their bodies. I allowed myself to enjoy the calm atmosphere for a couple seconds longer before finally handling the task at hand. My mind was already at ease so it felt flexible, almost? Inoichi had told us to focus on our minds, so if I just focused inwards…

My own chakra was the first thing that came into clarity. Sensing my own chakra didn't come to me like it did others: colors, images, emotions, etc. It came to me instead as a sensation, something I could only feel but not see. It was very similar to sticking your hand in a creek or river and feeling the current run by your hand. Yet it also felt very substantial as well, like if I took the action of grasping it, then it would solidify in my hand. Perhaps that is how shinobi utilized their chakra? Was it as easy as this? I mentally made a note to test it out later, when I wasn't under the watchful gaze of Inoichi.

The longer I focused on my chakra the more it began to reveal all of the aspects to it. The majority of what I felt was something really hot and something ice cool. These sensations circulated through my body like blood, but remained centered in my core, where my stomach was. The core of my being seemed to be the 'headquarters' of a lot of things. The warm and cool feelings swirled together in a circle, along with something...neutral? It was very hard to detect that it was even there. A memory of chakra information arose to the surface of my consciousness: physical, spiritual and natural energy. A normal shinobi would utilize the physical and spiritual sides of their chakra while the natural energy was something difficult to incorporate into ninja techniques. Naruto could attest to this fact, as he used natural energy to activate his sage mode. Since nature energy was so neutral in consistency, was that why it was so hard to use? Because not a lot of people could even grasp, let alone even feel it within themselves? Or wait, didn't you need to bring it in from the environment? Ugh, so many questions but at least I had something to go off of. The sensations of warmth, coolness, and subtle feelings actually represented physical, spiritual and nature energies. However the one thing that I couldn't figure out was this satin silky smooth feeling I felt within me as well. It wasn't as subtle as the nature energy but it wasn't as potent as the physical and spiritual energies. Perhaps I can ask Inoichi when we begin chakra training?

"Open your mind and delve into its depths," Inoichi spoke, his voice sounding as if he were some distance away from me. A bit odd, since I knew him to be not even more than an arm's length away. Oh well.

I mentally shrugged and prepared my mind, I guess it was about time I focused. I wasn't sure exactly what was supposed to happen but the effect was instantaneous. A tingling sensation spread across my head but the intensity was centered on my forehead. Uh, was this supposed to happen?

"Now it is time to waken your mind's eye," Inoichi spoke, his voice was a whisper to me now.

I felt a poke in the middle of my forehead and that is when things got _even stranger_. The tingling sensation started _furiously vibrating_ at the spot where he poked me, before it began moving to encompass the rest of my body in tingling sensations. It felt something like when a body part fell asleep, but without the pain or uncomfortability. It was almost like every cell in my body was shaking in...anticipation? I'm not sure what it was but I had the strangest feeling that something big was going to happen. Then the tingling sensation began receding back towards the spot where Inoichi had poked me. It lingered there for a second before going inwards and that was when my mind came alive. I could suddenly _see_ everything, but my eyes were still very much closed. Everything was in grayscale color: the grass, the trees, the sky - there was no longer anything in color. I had the faintest thought that I should be panicking, but this thought washed away when I turned to look at Ino.

Ino was glowing.

I don't mean that she was glowing in happiness or anything like that, she was _literally_ glowing. Her physical body had turned into a dark silhouette, but her head had this purple light in the middle of it. It was a particularly large light, taking up her entire head, but it glowed most brightly where her forehead should be. Wait, could this light represent her mind?

"You mind's eye is awake now and we only have one more step to complete," Inoichi's voice made me instinctively turn towards him and it took everything I needed not to gasp out loud. Inoichi looked like a silhouette as well and the light gleaming from his mind was the same purple color, but that's where the similarities ended. Inoichi's silhouette was encased in another giant silhouette, who's purple mind light may as well have been compared to a mini sun. It was gargantuan and would have been completely terrifying if I hadn't known who he was.

Inoichi was my dad, my tou-chan, and I knew he would never harm me.

"The final step is to enter your own mind and familiarize yourself with your subconsciousness." Inoichi instructed. I watched as Inoichi's silhouette raised his arms and the giant did the same too. The arms extended out, touching the temples of my forehead and that was when I felt myself being sucked inwards.

Everything became dark, before everything became light again. I found myself in a huge field. The tall grass and wildflowers surrounding me were vibrant in color and moved in a non-existent breeze. I looked above me and my mouth dropped open, staring at it in wonder and confusion. The sky above me showed that it was night time and it was giving a particularly miraculous presentation too. Stars glittered, increasing in brightness before dulling and getting bright again. Streams of multi-colored aurora borealis soared through the sky, contrasting nicely with the night sky. The moon was the hugest I had ever seen it, glowing the same purple shade I saw from Ino and Inoichi. From where I stood I could see the details on each individual crater and see the little rocks floating on its surface. I turned my gaze around me, trying to take everything in and failing utterly. The expanse was so huge, I couldn't tell where it ended or began. Was this really my mind?

 _Slam!_

The sound of a closing door resounded from behind me. I whirled around and suddenly came face-to-face with painted white wood. I took a couple steps back, realizing that a door had just appeared. It towered over me, so much so I couldn't even see the top of the door no matter how much I craned my neck. Where the heck did this door even come from? There was nothing around me before? I gazed around me once more, confirming that no new door (or other surprising things) was around me before reaching for the door knob. Guess there wasn't much else to do besides open this thing.

"You're finally here," a voice said, satisfied.

I let out a surprised yelp before turning around towards the voice. There standing a couple feet away from me, was a figure in a hooded white cloak. Okay, this person _so_ wasn't there before! I couldn't tell anything from the figure other than the fact that the voice belonged to a young child. The hood entirely shaded their face and the cloak covered their clothes too, extending so long that it dragged across the floor.

"Who are you?!" I asked, squinting as if that would make me recognize who they were, "And what are you doing inside my head?"

"I'm you," the voice said, shrugging as if it should have been obvious.

Say what now? I stared at the person in front of me with an incredulous expression, "How can you be me...when I'm right here? Who are you really?"

"Like I said," the figure said, amusement in their voice, "I'm you." The figure raised their sleeve-covered hands and, in one swift motion, took off the cloak they were wearing. Before me was a young boy with long, stark white hair that was styled up in a ponytail. He had pitch black skin, matching exactly with the night sky above us. His eyes were heterochromatic, with one eye being vibrant yellow and the other being a royal purple. The next thing I noticed were his teeth, which were actually all fangs, each one razor sharp. The nails on his fingers were long, pointed, and white in color. His clothes consisted of a white yukata that was decorated with green leaves.

"I don't understand…" I said, utterly confused.

"Let me start from the beginning," the boy said, clasping his hands behind his back, "It was before you came to this world - you were in the middle of being processed for reincarnation. But before you could be reincarnated, there had to be some minor changes. Your old world had no chakra and in order to survive in this new world, you needed chakra to be placed within your body. I guess there was a miscalculation on how much chakra they put in your body, because here I am!"

"So you're the chakra within me?" I asked, trying really hard to wrap my head around all this and failing miserably.

"More specifically the yin aspect of chakra," the boy clarified, "you can think of me as a manifestation if you will. I'm just the excess chakra that was added into your body and since I'm the yin aspect, or spiritual energy, I oversee the imaginative areas of your brain."

"Woah hold on," I said putting a hand up, "so you're basically all in my head? Just imaginary?"

"Yes and no…" the boy said, thinking, "yes I am in your head but no I am not just imaginary. I am made of pure yin energy so objectively speaking, I am very real."

Great. This was absolutely great. I hadn't even been here more than ten minutes and my mind was already a hot mess. For crying out loud, there was an actual person living here inside my head!

"Technically I'm still you though," the boy said, as if having heard my thoughts, "I'm your chakra that resides within you and I just so happened to take form. If you're worried I'm going to try and take over or anything like that, you don't have anything to worry about. A body should have a balanced amount of yin and yang elements within them. If I were to take over then, your body would probably overload from too much yin energy."

"I wasn't worried about that until now thank you," I said sarcastically, "and that doesn't really comfort me either."

The boy shrugged and remained silent, waiting for me to make the next move.

I used to think that next to being reincarnated into the Naruto world that nothing would be able to surprise me as much as that had. But this whole chakra-excess-thing-turned-person really took second place.

"Okay so…" I rubbed my temples, in an effort to get this information to sink in better, "if you're here now...then how long _have_ you been here exactly?"

"Since the moment you were born into this world."

I really should have seen this coming. He did say something about before being reincarnated I needed chakra in my body, right? So in order for me to have been put here then he would have needed to be in my head at that point. But wait…

"How come you didn't make yourself known back then?" I asked curiously, "Why wait until now to make your appearance?"

"If it was up to me, I would have introduced myself much later in the future," the boy answered, wiping imaginary dust off of his yukata, "but since Inoichi decided to do training today, our meeting was inevitable. As to why I didn't introduce myself sooner, I thought it would be better to do this face-to-face, so to say. I mean would you really have taken this news any better if I just talked to you as a floating voice inside your head?"

Okay, yeah he has a point. I probably would have thought I was going crazy and then have Inoichi go through my mind and just...yeah this was the best way to find out, all things considered.

"Do you have a name?" I asked, "I think it would be a little weird if we were both Hoshito. I think that'd be weird to call...myself that?"

Did that even make sense?

"Yes that did make sense," the boy said, the corners of his lips twitching upwards in amusement, "and you can simply call me Yin or any other variation of that. I don't really mind."

Wait, hold on - "Did you just read my mind?!"

The boy, Yin, rolled his eyes, "I literally _live_ in your mind. Your thoughts are like background music to me."

Oh, right.

"Now that we have addressed all the basic stuff," Yin said clasping his hands, "let's get down to business. I'll have to give you a tour of your own mind and, not to mention, we have many things to discuss."

It was a strange sight to see Yin acting 'professional.' His physical appearance, although unique, still was that of a three year old boy. He really couldn't pull off that serious look - his baby-chipmunk cheeks wouldn't allow that. It was adorable in a very strange this-is-my-mind-self sort of way.

"Come along now," Yin said, walking briskly towards the huge white door, but not before I could see a light blue dusting his cheeks. He blushes blue!

"This is the entryway into your mind," Yin said, gesturing towards the door with the blush still remaining on his cheeks, "where we are now is kind of like a porch, if you will. And before we go in I would like you to know how much of a mess it was. However in the three years you've been here, I was able to successfully organize all the information you know from the Naruto world. I've separated it from the memories you gained in this life and have been showing you Naruto memories whenever you needed the information boost."

Wow, that was so very-

"No need to thank me," Yin said with a proud smile, showing off his sharp fangs, "just doing my job."

Yin opened the doors and I held my breath. I'm not sure what I was expecting: grand staircase spiraling to somewhere, bright lights to encase us, maybe even confetti to be thrown? But it was quite literally just a doorway that opened up to reveal a hallway.

"We can set up more...dramatic entrances later," Yin said, patting my head as if I were a child - which yeah I guess I was, "for today's purposes we need to get straight down to matters."

Yin led the way down the hall, heading to somewhere I wasn't too sure. The hallway seemed to only be a straight stretch, but I couldn't gage how long it was. There were many doorways along the sides of the hall, leading to who knows where?

"Each door leads to somewhere different within your brain," Yin said, answering my thoughts, "some are categorized by a certain year's memories, emotions, aspirations, etc. I keep all the memories from your past life separate, however."

His words sent a jolt down my back. All the memories of my past life separate...does that mean my memories of my past life are just locked away somewhere? "Do you happen to have any memories from my past life? Who I was before? My family?" The hollow feeling of loss surged within me once again, swirling around as if lost itself. It still didn't know who the feeling should go to because I wasn't able to remember who the feelings were for. But now, if I happen to remember…

"I'm sorry, Hoshito," Yin said, stopping his walk to look me with a sorrowful look, "your memories of your past life are entirely gone. The reincarnation worked at least that much. The only thing that remained intact from your past life is knowledge about this world and some menial things such as some mythology, forms of technology, and tunes of music."

I swallowed the hollow feelings and inhaled deeply. Right, of course, it was probably better that I didn't remember anything other than what I needed. This was better. All I needed to do was to focus on the present anyways.

My words did nothing to still the empty feeling crawling within me.

"Come on," Yin said gently, taking hold of my hand, "we're almost there anyways."

Yin led me a little ways away down the hallway until he stopped in front of a door, chestnut brown in color with gold engravings all over it. Yin opened the door and revealed a room that was enormous in expanse. Were all these rooms this big? The floor and ceiling were olive green in color and, from what I could see of the walls they were the same color as well. Inside the room was nothing but a floating keyboard.

"This is where you stored all my past memories?"

"I know it doesn't look like I did," Yin said, a bit sheepishly, and walked up to the floating keyboard, "but watch this."

Yin typed away at the keyboard and suddenly the room was filled with holographic monitors. Each screen played a clip of a scene from the Naruto world and each monitor stacked on top of one another, It extended all the way to the far end of the room.

Holy shit.

"Ah! That's the expression I was looking for," Yin said, "but don't worry I'm not gonna make you go through all of this. Right now we just need one specific scene."

Yin clicked a few more buttons and the holographic monitors popped away, leaving a sole monitor to stand above us. The monitor was paused, showing the image of a young Hinata Hyuuga knocked out, in the arms of an enemy ninja.

This was Hinata's kidnapping.

"Here, let's review over the main points," Yin said, pressing a button and making a slideshow appear. The first image was of various houses with the Hyuuga clan symbol on an archway. The second image was that of Hinata being kidnapped by enemy shinobi, the one that was previously on the screen. And the third image was a side by side image with the two Hyuuga twins, each head of the respective main and side branches, Hiashi and Hizashi.

"The obvious thing is we know where it takes place: in the Hyuuga compound," Yin lectured, "we also know that from the symbol of the enemy ninja, he is from Kumogakure - which is also known as the Village Hidden in the Clouds. Fast forwarding to this part," Yin pressed a button on the keyboard and the middle monitor played the part of Hiashi Hyuuga killing the enemy ninja who kidnapped Hinata on loop. "Hiashi Hyuuga acted righteously in saving his daughter in killing her kidnapper. However, this action turned to be one with monstrous consequences. In retaliation, Kumo demanded that his life be taken in turn for their own loss under threat of another war. Hizashi, his twin, took his place in an effort to avoid war and have the secrets of their Byakugan protected from Kumo. In an effort to finally take hold of his own fate, Hizashi actually is the very person to condemn his son Neji to his own path of a bird imprisoned. Hinata Hyuuga will also never be able to emotionally recover from this incident. She will not be able to get the time to do so, as Hiashi will push her to get stronger in an effort to protect herself and Neji will begin to harbor hostile feelings towards her as well. Not long after this, Hanabi will soon surpass Hinata in skill due to Hinata's emotional distress and mental health holding her back."

My mind was spinning, "Okay so basically the way to stop this entire mess is to stop Hiashi from killing the enemy ninja. He only needs to be captured or stopped before Hiashi has time to deliver the killing blow."

"Essentially," Yin agreed, "however, the only question is how? How will we be able to execute this?"

"We couldn't warn Hiashi ahead of time, unless we wanted to get shipped to T&I for suspicion of conspiring against Konoha or for having information of the future," I said, shaking my head, "so that means we have to do something _just_ _before_ the Kumo ninja arrives on Hyuuga grounds.

Yin 'hmmed' in thought, "Fortunately, you just so happen to be a chakra sensor. Unfortunately, your range isn't very far. Unless the enemy ninja happens to be in the same room as you, you'll never know where they are. Plus the kidnapping takes place at night, how are you going to be able to find an excuse to spend the night at the Hyuuga compound?"

Shit. Why did the kidnapping have to even happen? Did Kumo really have to try and take a three year old just to get ninja secrets? Could they do me a favor and just pass on this whole fiasco?

Wishful thinking, but thinking like that isn't going to get me anywhere. Only action will.

"I convince Inoichi and Aiko to let me sleep over and then warn Hiashi on the night of," I said, thinking aloud, "so maybe I go to him saying I feel like something is off? Or maybe I say I see a ninja with an unfamiliar symbol? Either way I have to make sure the ninja gets nowhere near Hinata."

"But what if he does?" Yin asks, imploring me to think of every scenario, "You need to be prepared for everything that could go right and wrong. If the Kumo ninja gets near Hinata, I have no doubt you will always be by her side, but the question remains: what are you going to do?"

Isn't the answer obvious?

"I fight."

"A three year old against a seasoned shinobi will not be a very long fight," Yin said without missing a beat, "you may as well be very much endangering yourself. Plus you have to be thinking of the others as well."

"The others?" I blinked. There were going to be more enemy shinobi?

"Ino, Neji and any other head clan children that will attend the birthday party," Yin listed out, "unless you have forgotten the Hyuuga's recent visit to Yamanaka Flowers."

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.

 _How could I have forgotten?!_

Ino. She was going to be attending the party as well which meant if I was going to try and convince Inoichi and Aiko to sleep over, she would not want to be left out. This means she would be in as much danger as Hinata would be that night, not from being a potential target but just from proximity. And Neji, he would want to hang out with all of us so he would no doubt be with us as well. Not to mention any other clan children…

Ugh, things just got a whole lot more complicated.

"Well, maybe they can…" I knocked my brain around for answers, "maybe they can run away with Hinata to go get help while I stay and stall the enemy ninja."

That was okay, right?

"Yeah, sure," Yin said, rolling his eyes sarcastically, "you can stall him for the three seconds it takes to slice your neck and then go after Hinata."

Okay, ouch.

"Fine, what do you think then?" I crossed my arms with a huff.

"Finally, you're doing something sensible and asking me," Yin crossed his arms as well, "you get Inoichi to teach you genjutsu."

I gave Yin a blank stare, "You know what he said about working with chakra: not until I'm older."

"I know what he said, I was there!" Yin said, annoyed I wasn't getting the point, "Genjutsu is perfect! Besides the fact that your earlier thoughts about the field was something that piqued your interest, it would be something _I_ could help you in as well. I'm literally made of yin energy which is the energy used in genjutsu techniques. You'd have a step up, not to mention, you'd be able to cast an illusion on the enemy ninja enough to stall him and get help to detain the enemy from Kumo. Additionally, genjutsu does not require a lot of chakra but the trade off is that it requires major chakra control. But, that's the least of your problems cause that's where I'll be of help." Yin smirked proudly as he finished his speech.

That strangely made sense.

" _Hoshito..."_ Inoichi's voice called out from the distance.

"Damn, we ran out of time," Yin muttered, but smiled anyway," but luckily we figured out what you're going to do."

"If you think it'll be easy for Inoichi to teach me a high level genjutsu to put on an advanced shinobi, then you have got to be joking," I grumbled, mentally groaning at the task I had ahead of me.

"Just ask him to show you, not teach you," Yin said, playfully rolling his eyes, "Ino really is right, you really are a dork."

" _Hoshito…"_ Inoichi's voice sounded a bit more clear and much closer.

"Hey, you can't say that!" I said, an embarrassed blush beginning to show on my cheeks, "I am not a-"

I was interrupted by Yin's body as he tackled me in a hug, "It was wonderful to finally meet you and don't worry we will see one another again very soon. Remember, I'm in your mind so we can speak anytime you wish now. I promise I'll answer all your thoughts, even the dorky ones."

Yin winked and pressed a kiss to the middle of my forehead and suddenly everything went black. It was a few seconds later before I opened my eyes and groaned at how bright it was. Was it this bright before? A deep chuckle sounded to my right and a hand patted my head, "You okay there, Hoshito?"

I rubbed my eyes, smiling a little shyly at Inoichi's amused gaze, "Yes, tou-chan, I'm fine."

Inoichi hummed before turning to Ino, who apparently was still meditating, and began waking her up like he did to me. I took advantage of this moment and began thinking of ways I could contact Yin? How would this work exactly? Do I just think as I normally would and would he hear it or do I have to consciously think that I'm sending a thought to him and that's how he hears it? Or what if I-

" _The dorky thoughts are coming sooner than I thought,"_ Yin's voice reverberates inside my head and I could practically feel his teasing smile.

" _You know maybe I'm not so glad you responded,"_ I mentally glared as I felt Yin's smile widen.

" _We both know that's a lie,_ " Yin laughed, " _also good luck with Inoichi. Ask him now!"_

"Alright, I think that was a very productive meditation session," Inoichi said, smiling widely at the both of us, "we can finally call an end to the training for today!"

"Yay! I can't wait to do this again tou-chan!" Ino shouted, leaping up. She sang a little tune as she carefully lay her flower crown she made onto my head before skipping away happily towards the house, "Hurry up, Ito! Let's go play!"

Inoichi chuckled once again, looking out to where Ino was skipping, before holding out his hand to help me up off the ground.

I guess it was now or never.

"Tou-chan?" I asked, doing my best to keep my voice as innocent sounding as possible.

"Yes, Hoshito?" Inoichi looked down at me, his face gentle but one of his eyebrows were raised the slightest bit. I had no doubt he would school his expression much better during shinobi interrogations but for now I like to think he did these tell-tale signs to show his emotions. It was all these little things that he did to help prepare for a life as a shinobi. That or I just thought way too hard into all of these things.

"I was wondering if you could show me how to do genjutsu?" I gave Inoichi my puppy dog eyes.

Inoichi's eyes gleamed, "Genjutsu, huh?"

"Yes, tou-chan. Please!" I dragged out the last syllable, emphasizing my puppy dog eyes even further.

"Hoshito, you're a bright boy," Inoichi said, "so I know you remember what I said earlier: I wouldn't teach you any techniques using chakra until you were older."

"I know that tou-chan!" I said, "But I was just wondering if you could show me _how_ to do it. I'm just curious is all." I shrugged my shoulders, looking down and kicking at the ground slightly. Presenting myself as a discouraged and innocent child was easier than I thought.

"Fine you convinced me, Hoshito!" Inoichi said, in a far too dramatic manner to showcase sincerity, "I'll show you how to do it!"

I glanced up in surprise and gave Inoichi a bright smile, "Thanks tou-chan!"

"Now watch _very carefully,_ " Inoichi said, smiling much too innocently.

Okay, something was up.

I had no warning cause suddenly Inoichi's hands were a blur in front of me for, I kid you not, a solid _second_ before they were down by his sides. "And that's how you cast a genjutsu, Hoshito."

"Huh?!" I said, very confused, "You did it too fast!"

"And give you the opportunity to try and recreate it?" Inoichi asked in a tone that was very much satisfied that he fooled me, "I don't think so Hoshito, sorry. And don't feel too bad, I did show you what you wanted after all."

Inoichi laughed fully when he saw my pouting expression, "Come on, let's go inside. I'll treat you to ice cream to make you feel better." Inoichi scooped me up into his arms and together we made our way into the house. Ugh, I can't believe he really did that! I mean, okay, he did show me what I wanted but it was way too fast! Now what was I going to do at Hinata's birthday party? How was I going to stall the enemy ninja now?

" _Don't worry Hoshito,"_ Yin's voice spoke in my head, a little giddy, _"I was able to go through the memory and slow down the speed of his hands."_

Wait, so then that means-

" _That's right!"_ Yin giggled, _"I know what hand seals to do."_

" _That's awesome, Yin! Great job!"_

I smiled and perked up in Inoichi's arms, much happier now that I got what I wanted. Inoichi, noticing my change in mood, patted my bottom a couple times softly. He must think it was the ice cream that improved my mood. We entered the house only to hear Ino's giggles and a very familiar chuckle from the living room.

Could it be?

I wiggled out of Inoichi's arms, Inoichi letting me go with a fond sigh, and I darted towards the living room to confirm my suspicions. The chakra came to me before the sight did. A familiar metal-wood tree with blue leaves. I burst into the living room, a wide smile already on my face. Of course he had been expecting me, probably from hearing my footsteps, and he too had a very pleased smile on his face.

Oh, how I've missed Fū.

I was to his spot in a flash and launched myself at him in what I liked to call my ultimate Yama-hug launch. Fū caught me with ease, rubbing my back as he returned my hug, "Hello, Hoshito-kun. It is very good to see you."

I buried my face even further into him, sighing in contentment, "I missed you, you know?"

"We saw each other just the other day?" Fū said, a bit incredulous but happy nonetheless.

I pulled away slightly from the hug and grabbed his face in my hands. His golden brown orbs widened a little when they met with mine, recognizing the seriousness in my gaze just like the first time we had met, "It was too long ago, Fū."

"See I told you that you should come visit us more often!" Ino sang, peeking her head over my shoulder to look at Fū as well, "Ito gets hug-deprimed."

"No, it's not hug-deprimed Ino," I said, correcting her, "it's hug-debribed. I'm hug-debribed not hug-deprimed."

Ino's mouth briefly turned into an o-shape before she firmly nodded, taking my words to heart. Fū's laughter made us look at him in confusion, "I think you two mean hug- _deprived_."

Oh. I blushed furiously and ducked my head into my hands. In my defense, I was still very much learning Japanese so some words just alluded me.

"But I apologize Hoshito-kun," Fū said, gently taking my hands away from my face, "I will try to come visit much more often. I'm sorry that every day after the academy and training practice was not enough for you."

"Good, that's all I ask." I said, knowing full well I was being unreasonable but what can I say? Fū has very much grown on me.

"Fū!" Inoichi called out happily, "It's always great to see you! How was your day at the academy?"

"Same as always Inoichi-san," Fū's smile bordered on a slight smirk, "easy as always."

Inoichi came over and ruffled his hair, "That's my boy!"

The blush on Fū's face was a very welcoming sight indeed.

"If you're not too busy, I was going to head off and treat Ino and Hoshito to ice cream," Inoichi explained, "they just finished their first day of meditative training! It went really well, they both achieved their mental states nicely."

"You guys did, did you?" Fū gathered Ino into his arms as well and looked at us appraisingly, "How was your training experience?"

"It was so cool!" Ino gushed excitedly, "I had my eyes closed but I could see everything at the same time! I just wish everything wasn't so sad though! There was no happy at all but that's okay cause I went into my mind and it is very pretty and happy in there. Lots of pinks, and yellows. Oh and blue!"

Hold on.

"You didn't see any purple lights, Ino?" I turned to my twin sister curiously, "When you were looking at the black and white stuff?"

"Purple lights?" Ino blinked, very confused, "Where?"

"They were only on people," I told her and pointed to her forehead, "and the light was right here."

"Hmmm," Ino thought for a moment before pouting, "nope I didn't see any purple lights. You're so lucky you got to see them! And in my favorite color too!"

"Hoshito," Inoichi asked, and I straightened up at his tone, "you saw the mind's light with your third eye during the meditation?" Inoichi was staring at me with a very serious gaze. I nervously glanced at Fū and saw he was staring similarly at me.

"Um," I shifted in Fū's lap a little, "yes? Is that what the purple light is called?"

Inoichi nodded once, his face in utter shock.

"Inoichi-san," Fū said slowly, forming his thoughts, "is it possible for someone so young to have reached that mental perception so fast? Even with me, it didn't take me until I was eight to reach that stage."

"It is not unheard of, no," Inoichi stated, "but it is certainly very rare. Even I didn't reach that stage until I was almost five…."

Inoichi's expression turned into one that beamed with pride, "Well it looks like we have a Yamanaka prodigy on our hands!"

Then I was lifted into the air, Inoichi's shouting words of praise. Fū was giving me compliments while I could vaguely hear Ino asking what a 'prahdigee' was. I would have laughed if I wasn't too terrified by the news. Being a child prodigy in Konoha was like walking into a blizzard with no clothes on or being locked in a room with a bunch of starved wolves. It may sound like an exaggeration but the danger intensity was very much true. It all boiled down to one person too: Danzō. Danzō practically hunted down child prodigies and forced them into joining his ROOT faction. Another person I should be concerned about is Orochimaru too, but seeing as he's not in Konoha at this present moment, Danzō would remain as my primary concern. If word got around that I was a prodigy in the making...it would only be a matter of time before he found out.

"I have to go tell Aiko the good news," Inoichi spoke, his eyes glittering, "would you be willing to take the twins out for ice cream in my place Fū?"

"Of course, Inoichi-san," Fū nodded his head, "I'd be happy to take the twins out."

"Great, thanks Fū!" Inoichi smiled brilliantly, hugging Fū and kissing the top of mine and Ino's head before rushing off to find Aiko elsewhere in the house.

Fū grabbed both mine and Ino's hands and guided us out of the house, "Let's go get ice cream."

"YAY!" Ino shouted out excitedly and I mumbled my own words of excitement, a bit too preoccupied with my thoughts.

 _This changes everything._

If I'm labeled as a prodigy then that puts me on the enemy radar much sooner than I would have liked, but maybe this could be a good thing instead? As a prodigy, I could graduate faster which means I would be able to get to the frontlines of battle before the Konoha Twelve. This means I would be able to interact with Danzō, Orochimaru, Obito, etc. and I would be able to take off some of the attention off of Naruto and Sasuke and put it on me. If I could shift Danzō's attention onto me and make him less sharingan eye-crazy then he would look to other outlets for achieving more power. This goes the same for Orochimaru. If I was able to entice Orochimaru to the mind of a Yamanaka then maybe he wouldn't target Sasuke so heavily. But then I could possibly turn into a target of getting Orochimaru's curse mark which was something I definitely did _not_ want to happen. But wouldn't it be better for me to get it than Sasuke? I knew the risks of getting it and I knew there was no chance in hell that I was going to let Sasuke go down that dark path again. So if anyone had to get the mark, I should just let it be me, right? If this was an opportunity to ensure Sasuke's safety, even by a small percentage, then shouldn't I take it?

I wanted to save people from the future I saw happen, so I should be taking all the risks.

So why do I hesitate?

" _There's nothing wrong with self-preservation,"_ Yin's voice sounded softly in my head.

" _What do I do, Yin?"_ I asked my mental half, hopelessly, _"I mean this is what I've decided on doing so why am I so unsure?"_

" _You've just so happened to encounter a scenario you didn't expect,"_ Yin reasoned, _"there are more than one way to go about saving the people you want to. You'll just have to take into account that you're now a prodigy as well."_

" _I should have been more careful,"_ I sighed, scolding myself, _"I should have-"_

" _There's no use talking about what you should have or shouldn't have done,"_ Yin advised, _"all that you should do is focus on the present. You will handle everything else as they come. Don't worry, you can plan better next time."_

" _How exactly can I plan better?"_ I deadpanned to him. It didn't matter if I was a prodigy or not, if I encountered Danzō or Orochimaru now...I shivered at the possibility of what may happen. Experimentations to see what my physical and mental limitations were and seeing how they could extend it. Or what if they dissected my brain to try and unlock the Yamanaka mental jutsu from the source?! Panic gripped my being and my breathing began to quicken.

" _Hey, hey calm down Hoshito!"_ Yin's voice sounded in my head with a soft urgency, _"Don't let your imagination get the best of you, you'll be able to solve everything but you just have to take it one step at a time. Take everything as they come, when they come. Don't overexert yourself trying to tackle everything at once."_

" _Even if I did that, Dan_ z _ō is one huge mountain to tackle,"_ I thought hopelessly, _"I'm just one kid who's in way over his head."_

" _You're not just_ one _kid Hoshito,"_ a warm feeling settled over my mind, spreading to the rest of my body as well, _"I'm here too_ _and I'll always be here for you. I don't want you to forget that you have others here for you as well. I know that planning and training for what's to come is crucial, but you have to remember to enjoy the present sometimes too."_

"ICE CREAM!" Ino yelled out excitedly, pulling me out of my thoughts. We were suddenly in sight of the desert shop, Konoha's Delights, and were on track to the entrance doors. It usually encountered heavy foot traffic, being one of the only sweet shops in Konoha, but it wasn't too busy right now. There was just a couple other groups of people in the shop which was a wonderful sight compared to its cramped environment on its especially busy days.

Guess I'll just have to cry about being a prodigy later, but Yin's words did soothe my worry - even if only a little.

 _Ding!_

The door hit a bell, signalling that we had entered the store. Ino was quick to rush to the counter where there were various deserts displayed through a glass screen. It was a mouth-watering sight, to be honest. There were colorful mochi ice cream, delectable jelly anmitsu, and even the famously delicious dango.

"What color of mochi would you two like?" Fū asked, gazing at the desserts displayed with a thoughtful expression.

"I want the purple ones!" Ino said, pressing her face to the glass and then whispering, "I want _all_ of the purple ones."

I smiled at my twin sister, her actions pulling me further away from the self-pitying thoughts. Maybe Yin was right. Maybe I shouldn't keep worrying about the future so heavily and enjoy this time now, when everything is building up. After all, the shitshow of bad-things-happening doesn't really start until after Naruto and the others become genin. Of course, there's still Hinata's kidnapping and the whole Uchiha massacre but that's just two things. Just two little things to fix.

Yeach, I was horrible at cheering myself up.

" _You were off to a pretty good start, but then the dorky thoughts entered."_ Yin teased, _"You worry way too much and I forbid you to worry for this present moment. Enjoy this dessert time and tell Fū what color mochi you want. He's been waiting for almost two minutes and he's beginning to look worried."_

I focused my eyes onto Fū, who indeed had an expression of worry on his face. Yikes, I better answer him!

"I'd like the yellow and white ones." I answered, looking up at Fū with a bright smile that I hoped was enough to convince Fū that I was okay.

It seemed to do the trick because the worried expression was shook away with a smile, "Alright, I'll go tell them our orders."

Yeah, I'll be okay.

"Don't leave the shop." Fū said this part half-jokingly, half-seriously. As kids he knew we would never leave a place filled with so many sweets, especially Ino who practically lived for it. But also because of the fact that we _were_ kids was why he told us so anyways.

"We won't leave, Fū." I reassured my older cousin.

"Yeah, I could stay here forever!" Ino agreed, pressing her face even closer to the glass separating her from her beloved sweets. It was like she thought that if she pressed herself as close to the glass as possible, she would be able to make the glass vanish and bring the sweets into her waiting embrace. Hmm, that was an oddly specific observation.

Fū gave a fond shake of his head before leaving to go take our orders. I gazed at the various desserts, admiring the sight for a little while, before turning my gaze around the store. It was a cute little shop. There were wooden basket aisles with various candies within and the store was lit up with single exposed bulbs covered with paper lanterns, giving off gentle lighting. The floors were particularly interesting as it was a blue and white checkerboard patterned. The people in here all seemed to be in their own little worlds as well. There was a single dad enjoying a plate of a sponge cake with his daughter. There was a couple feeding their child what seemed to be like his first taste of mochi ice cream. The last group were three people who were sitting at the back table of the store. I barely took in their appearance of pitch black hair and pale beige skin because I was too busy being focused on the bright red and white insignias on the back of the two older boys' shirts.

They were from the Uchiha clan.

My heart froze before rapidly speeding up. There were two older boys and a young boy. One of the older boys had curly, short black hair while the other had his pulled back into a loose ponytail. The little boy, who was facing me, had short hair in the back and long strands in the front going past his chin. There could be no doubt; these people were-

"I can't believe Sasuke doesn't like dango!" the curly haired boy shouted out incredulously, "Are you sure he's related to you Itachi?"

"I am very certain that Sasuke is my little brother, Shisui," Itachi answered in a somewhat monotone voice.

I didn't have much time to process the fact that I was _actually seeing_ the famed Uchihas with my very own eyes, because at that moment their chakra hit me. The first to make its presence could have only been Itachi's. His chakra came to me in the form of a volcano and it was like I was standing right next to the mouth of it. Luckily it wasn't about to erupt, but I could feel the heat from it as if it was close to erupting. I peeked inside the volcano's mouth and my eyes widened at what I saw. Instead of seeing the typical lava inside, it was something else entirely. Inside was boiling water and as each bubble popped it shifted into lava form before delving back into liquid state. How odd? The next chakra to hit me was that of Shisui's. I was suddenly floating in air, gazing at a waterfall. I was floating directly in front of it and no matter how hard I tried to see to the left or right, there was no end in sight. The waterfall seemed to go on forever, but this wasn't the most awe-inspiring part. The water falling was entirely clear and flowed so smoothly it seemed as if the water wasn't moving at all. What was underneath the waterfall revealed a huge expanse of diamond instead of rock. Sasuke's was the last chakra to come to me. I was once again floating in air except all that I could see was the sky. It was a particularly sunny day with a handful of huge, white, cumulonimbus clouds floating in the atmosphere. The most peculiar thing was that, despite the white nature of the clouds, there was lightning sparking through the clouds. It was a dazzling display of red and purple lightning shooting around the clouds.

The chakra images dissolved and I was left with my thoughts. It was definitely one of the more...adventurous chakra images I had received. I wonder why they were so different though? Was it because they were from the Uchiha clan that their chakra seemed to be so unique? Did the possibility or fact that they had the Sharingan change the chakra versatility? Sure the Sharingan was one of the more powerful dojutsu or visual jutsus in the Naruto world, but to have it affect the chakra itself in such a way…

The Uchihas were truly an intriguing bunch.

"Hey, that boy keeps staring at me." a confused voice said.

I followed the voice and found that it was Sasuke who had spoken and okay who did I have to talk to about all these _kids being so darn cute?!_ Sasuke had slightly chubby cheeks which must have been leftover baby fat, but I was not complaining. He had a confused pout on his face and wide, black eyes. He was drawing a circular pattern into the table with his index finger, shyly looking at me and then back to the table at his finger.

"Maybe because you keep staring at him?" Shisui offered as a reason with a single eyebrow raised.

A bright pink blush blossomed on Sasuke's cheeks and he crossed his arms with a huff, "I'm only staring because he started it first!"

"Hello there," Itachi said, turning around with a polite smile, "is there something I can help you with?"

 _Oh my god_ _Itachi Uchiha was speaking to me!_

There was like twenty-five percent of me fanboying and the other seventy-five percent of me in shock because this was Itachi before he became _Itachi Uchiha_. This Itachi had not yet watched his best friend fall to his death nor gained the Mangekyou sharingan. This Itachi did not know the horrors of murdering his entire clan in an effort to prevent a civil war in Konoha. This Itachi was unpracticed in the cruel ways of the Akatsuki and had no idea of the existence of Obito. This Itachi's sole existence was not to be an obstacle for Sasuke to overcome and to beat. This Itachi was the one who did not yet know just how dark his world could become. Looking at him now, he seemed more...at peace. There were the accentuated tear troughs, of course, but they did not stand out too vividly. His dark eyes showed a deep intelligence and still had a light in them, like he still believed in the good of the world.

This was the Itachi I wanted to save.

I walked closer to him, as if pulled by some form of gravity, and took in the image of him before everything bad happened to him. It was so bizarre to see him in a sweets shop, but it was another reminder that he was human. He was a human who was forced to undergo terrifying situations and despite it all, he always acted in a way that protected the one he loved the most: Sasuke. Itachi Uchiha's story was one of the one's that I hated the most and I planned to make sure the future I knew would never come to play. I was mere inches away from the Uchiha, his polite smile was long gone and instead he stared at me with curiosity. I'm sure this probably would have looked super weird: a random three year old walking up to you and standing in your personal space. But I couldn't help myself, because here he was! The very boy I wanted to save was right before my eyes, so forgive me if I was a little too awestruck. My hand slowly raised to Itachi's face to which Itachi's eyes became a little more alert. I have no doubt he could have stopped me if he wanted to but it seemed like he was curious to see what I would do. I gently ran a finger down one of Itachi's tear troughs, the contact causing Itachi to stiffen at the action.

I like to think that my mind was too busy being shocked that Itachi was right in front of me that that's why I had no control of the words that came out of my mouth, "You're so pretty."

The lightest shade of red dusted across Itachi's cheeks while a rush of heat came into my own. Shisui burst out in a loud, guffawing laughter, holding his stomach as he did.

"Thank you," Itachi whispered, the red still dusting his cheeks.

"You're welcome," I gave Itachi a sheepish smile. Even though it was utterly embarrassing, I don't think I entirely regret it. After all, the reaction I got afterwards was completely worth it!

"I like your nerve kiddo," Shisui said with a chuckle, wiping a tear away, "what's your name?"

I turned to face the curly haired boy and for a moment I just stared. Shisui was someone I had only seen very fleetingly in the anime and it was always a sad thought to know that he had such a short time in this world. His story was another that I hated. Danzō would later steal one of Shisui's eye in an effort to gain the power of the sharingan. This would spur Shisui into the action of getting rid of his last eye, entrusting it to Itachi and then committing suicide so Itachi could gain the Mangekyou sharingan. Shisui was someone that I didn't get to really see a lot but his character was someone I had always admired. Maybe this was my chance to get to know him and if everything went well, I would get to save him too. Shisui had the typical Uchiha look with pale skin and dark hair, but that is where the similarities ended. Shisui had smoke grey eyes which were very different from the normally coal black eyes of the Uchiha clan. Shisui also carried himself differently; it seemed like he was more expressive and outgoing than the average Uchiha. And _holy shit_ , this guy had the whitest teeth I had ever seen!

It seemed like I was making a trend of just acting without thinking because the next thing I knew, I was executing my ultimate Yama-hug launch at him.

"My name is Hoshito Yamanaka," I wrapped my arms around him and smiled brightly at his shocked expression, "and I like your hair."

Shisui's hesitated for a second before returning the hug full force, "It's nice to meet you Hoshito-kun," Shisui smiled before ruffling my hair, "my name's Shisui! And I like your eyes, they're really bright!"

"It is a pleasure to meet you Hoshito-kun," Itachi monotoned out with the slightest of smiles on his face, "My name is Itachi Uchiha."

I smiled at the two older Uchiha boys before hopping off of Shisui's lap and going around the table to sit beside the last Uchiha: Sasuke. The boy was already staring at me with wide eyes and was regarding me in both excitement and nervousness. This time my actions were with complete intention. I rose my hands up to Sasuke's face and cupped his face with my hands, "So squishy."

Shisui's laughter sounded again and I could have sworn I heard Itachi's breathy laughter too. It was like his breathing, but heavier? Like gusts of air that came out - not so much like wheezing, but kind of?

Sasuke's whole face flushed pink this time and he opened and closed his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

"Would you like to be my friend?" I asked Sasuke, pulling his face closer to me and giving him my puppy dog eyes, "I only have a couple friends and I'd like to have more! Plus I really like your squishy cheeks and I'm sure we will have tons of fun together!"

Sasuke froze and a little gasp sounded from him. He was staring at me with such a gaze of wonderment and shock, it wasn't hard for me to guess that I was the first person to ask him this.

"Ito come get your ice crea- hey Ito!" Ino shouted towards me, but stopped mid-sentence in surprise, "You know what tou-chan said about boys! You can't just go around kissing them, no matter how much you like them. You have to wait until you're older, like thirty."

Sasuke and I both made noises similar to that of an animal being strangled. Heat that resembled fire settled into my cheeks and I released Sasuke from my hold, finally processing how that could have looked bad. But why would someone even think something like that was going to happen, I was three for crying out loud!

Ino was staring at me with a satisfied smirk, knowing exactly what she had done, and flicked her hair over her shoulder. It was her congratulating me on making a new friend, but her getting back at me for not inviting her sooner. It was just a reminder that Ino was not one to be left out.

"It's not like that Ino!" I decidedly ignored how someone could have cooked eggs on my burning face and glared at my twin sister, "I was just making a new friend."

"Oops, sorry!" Ino said, giving me a sheepish smile and tucked a nonexistent hair behind her ear, silently telling me she meant no real harm.

I pursed my lips at her before wiping my nose with a quick motion: yes, I forgive you.

Ino brightened up and flashed her signature smile to the Uchihas before me, "Hi, I'm Ito's twin sister Ino! I hope we can be friends too!"

And just like that the Uchihas were Yama-hustled.

Ino's signature smile really held so much power. Shisui was quick to flash by her side, patting her head and reassure her that they could be friends. Itachi was more subtle in his reaction, giving a closed eye-smile to Ino and nodding his head. Sasuke looked to be in an absolute daze with his black eyes practically sparkling.

"I can't believe I have _two_ friends." Sasuke whispered in quiet disbelief.

My heart simultaneously melted and broke at those words. I grabbed Sasuke and hugged him to myself, gently rocking our beings back and forth. Sasuke Uchiha was just too precious.

"Hoshito-kun, Ino-chan, your ice cream has arrived..." Fū's voice drifted off as he took in the scene before him before back-tracking, "Ah, I've seen you made new friends. Hello Shisui-kun, Itachi-kun."

Wait, did they know each other?

"Hiya, Fū!" Shisui mock-saluted to him with a half-smirk, "On babysitting duty like us I see."

"Fū-kun," Itachi nodded in greeting, "these are your cousins."

Itachi said it more as a statement than a question.

"They sure are," Fū answered, a soft smile coming onto his face, "and I'm assuming this is your younger brother?"

"Yes, this is Sasuke." Itachi confirmed, gesturing to Sasuke as he did.

Sasuke straightened up and bowed before Fū, "It is nice to meet you Fū-san."

"Fū we made a new friend!" Ino happily announced, "Well, we made three, but Sasuke is our age! So that makes him extra special!"

Sasuke jumped at the declaration, mouthing the words 'extra special' and putting a hand to his heart in surprise. I swear to whatever higher being out there, if Sasuke Uchiha gets any cuter I'm going to punch the sun. I just wanted to wrap him up in a blanket and put him in my pocket, protecting him from all the dangers of the world.

And Universe knows how dangerous the Naruto world was.

"I'm happy you two have made a new addition to your friend's list," Fū said, genuinely happy, "but I'm afraid we have to get going. I've just received word that we have to return to the Yamanaka compound."

Ino whined at the news and Sasuke frowned, another pout was on his lips.

"No worries, we should probably get going too," Shisui waved his hand at the matter, "I promised to show the squirt here how I'm better at throwing shuriken than his nii-san."

"Nobody is better than my nii-san." Sasuke spoke up with complete confidence, "and I'm not a squirt!"

"Whatever you say, squirt." Shisui smiled at Sasuke's indignant grunt that sounded afterwards.

"Well, this seems like this is where we part ways for now," Itachi said, clapping his hands once, "I do hope that we see each other soon. It was nice to make your acquaintance, Ino-chan, Hoshito-kun."

"You'll definitely be seeing more of me," Shisui winked at both Ino and I, flashing us a wide view of his pearly whites, "you two are definitely an interesting pair!"

"Goodbye Hoshito-kun…" Sasuke quietly said to me, nervously fidgeting closer to me and then away. His arms were twitching at his sides and his gaze was everywhere but on me. Was he trying to give me a hug? My answer revealed itself when Sasuke remained close to me, still acting out the same movements.

"You're my friend now so you can drop the -kun. Oh, and call me Ito, Sasuke!" I pulled the awkward boy into a hug with a giggle, "I hope to see you very soon!"

I pulled away from Sasuke who once again avoided eye contact. He hummed in confirmation and looked to the ground with a happy smile, "Okay...Ito."

"You can drop the -chan for me too!" Ino said and scooped Sasuke into a hug of her own, "We're all gonna be the bestest friends!"

Sasuke answered with a quiet, "Yes, I'd like that."

Shortly after, Ino and I were madly waving at the three Uchihas as they parted ways to go to the Uchiha district. Shisui waved back at the two of us, with more energy than our own funnily enough, while Sasuke and Itachi gave more subdued waves - Itachi being more calm in nature and Sasuke did so only because he was still happily blushing.

The way back home was a peaceful one. It was just entering evening time so the sky above Konoha was just turning into beautiful hues of orange, yellow, and pink. The clouds all seemed to have migrated to the horizon, so the light from the sun painted them into beautiful canvases. The heat of the day settled into a happy medium and the people of Konoha that were out and about settled into a leisurely stroll. Ino was chatting non-stop, talking about anything and everything all at once. How she managed to do that and steadily eat her mochi without it melting was a skill only Ino had. Her filling up most of the conversation gave me time to think back on the events that just transpired. I was completely taken by surprise by meeting the Uchihas today, especially people so crucial to the plotline of the Naruto world. I was happy to have befriended Sasuke and got into contact with Itachi and Shisui. The interaction went better than anything I could have imagined so it was probably best that I didn't plan anything for when I met them. I think interactions are better genuine anyways.

But there was just one thing that I didn't quite get.

"Hey, Fū?" I asked when Ino took a pause between talking topics, "It seemed like you knew Itachi-san and Shisui-san. How did you meet them?"

"Good observation Hoshito-kun, you are correct: I do know them," Fū replied, "I know Shisui-kun because we started off in the academy together but then he graduated early. Itachi-kun is a couple years younger than me, but since he is a prodigy, he was moved up to my grade level and we share the same class. But I'm sure it won't be long before he follows in Shisui-kun's footsteps by graduating early as well."

Oh, I did not know all that.

"How come everyone is graduating early?" Ino asked Fū, jumping into the conversation too, "Are you going to graduate early?"

"People graduate early if they have the capacity and skill sets to do so, Ino-chan," Fū explained, "they usually are some form of prodigy if they do graduate early. As for myself, if I continue on the progress that I am now then I should be able to graduate a whole two years early. It will be just in time for when you two go off to the academy."

Okay where is all this new information coming from and why had I not known this before? Albeit, Fū was a minor character whose story the anime didn't explain too thoroughly, but if he was in the same academy timeline as Shisui and Itachi one would think it would have been mentioned at one point.

"So, right when we start the academy, you'll be graduating?" Ino thought aloud.

"That's correct." Fū nodded his head.

There was no further time to elaborate because mine and Ino's house was coming into view. It was kind of like a modern log cabin but made out of wooden planks. The roof was a dark blue color and it stood two stories tall. The Yamanaka compound was kind of like a neighborhood that looked like there wasn't a lot of land until you saw each person's backyard. However our house had a pretty decent size front yard that was lined with a white-picket fence. We hadn't even made it past it when the front door burst open, Aiko was running towards us with a warm smile, "Hello!"

Aiko gathered the Ino, Fū and I into one huge embrace, "How was the dessert run?"

"It went smoothly, Aiko-san." Fū answered once he pulled away from Aiko's hug.

"We made a new friend today kaa-chan!" Ino updated Aiko with a squeal, "His name is Sasuke Uchiha! He's our age too!"

Aiko's eyebrows rose up in surprise, "Sasuke Uchiha, huh? Well, I'm happy you two made another new friend."

"As for you mister," Aiko turned her eyes to me, "what's this about me hearing you being a little Yamanaka prodigy."

There was that word again, 'prodigy.' I know before I was freaking out about all the connotations of being a prodigy in Konoha could possibly mean, but looking at AIko made me second guess it. She was staring at me with such...pride...and happiness that it caused a satisfied feeling to burst from within my chest all the way down to my toes. To Aiko, being a prodigy was a huge accomplishment and she was utterly proud too. For now, in this moment, that is what it will be for me too.

"That's what tou-chan says I am," I puffed my chest out and nodded, "he says that because I saw the mind's light way faster that that's why I'm a prodigy."

Aiko squealed before picking me up and spinning me around in a dizzying hug, "That's my bright boy! That's my Hoshito-kun!"

"Don't worry kaa-chan," Ino said once Aiko had stopped spinning me, "I'll make sure being a prodigy doesn't go to his head like it did tou-chan."

"Hey!" Inoichi's voice called out as he walked up to us, "Who said I let it get to my head?"

Aiko bit back her laughter with a smile that revealed all too much that it was her who had said that, "Anyways," AIko skillfully changed the subject, "you two just received a letter that brings some very good news!"

"A letter?" I asked, very confused cause who could be writing to us?, "What did it say?"

"Well it's more of an invitation really," Aiko said, hinting heavily at what it could be.

An invitation? What invitation would we need- _oh my god!_ It's the invitation for Hinata's birthday party?!

"Is it for the birthday party for Hinata?" Ino asked, jumping up and down in barely contained excitement.

"The very one!" Aiko confirmed, producing the letter out of who knows where and waving it in the air, "And it has some exciting news too: the birthday party had to be moved due to personal reasons."

Wait a minute.

"So that means the party had to be moved a couple days sooner." Aiko continued.

Oh no.

"So when is the party?!" Ino practically shouted while my stomach dropped. This wasn't good news at all. Okay, well hopefully with it being moved up, I'll still have a couple days to prepare for it. Then maybe I could-

"The party is tomorrow!" Aiko announced.

 _Fuck._

* * *

 **A/N: Wow this feels so good to finally update and a lot of things are in motion now! So many introductions to new concepts/people, I hope I managed to write this in a coherent manner. I was so excited to write the interaction between Hoshito and the Uchihas! I like to imagine little Sasuke being too cute for words and Itachi being happy and Shisui being the loud cousin who always knows how to have a good time. Ah, the good times just before shit hits the fan, am I right?**

 **Yin! How did you guys feel about him? He's definitely going to come into play a lot more now that he's been introduced to Hoshito. The dynamic between the two and how they work together in the future….oooh I cannot wait to write this for you all to find out. ;)**

 **Also probably the biggest thing is Hinata's birthday which will be the next chapter. This will be so huge because this is where I plan for things to really start changing and I think you'll be surprised (maybe? hopefully?) on how it all plays out. Any predictions on how it'll go? Who will be there (clan kids wise)? What Hinata's presents will be? Lol.**

 **I've missed so much writing about Hoshito and this world, I will definitely be more consistent with my updating on here. I wrote this chapter super long, in hopes that I can make up for my lack of updates these past couple months. I hope this satisfied the need for more content and don't worry! The next update will be here much quicker than this one arrived.**

 **A platter full of chocolate covered strawberries for your thoughts?**


	5. Chapter 5: The Birthday Party

**A/N: I'll save the full note for the bottom of the page because I know this update has been extremely waited for. So please read, roughly 20K+, of the chapter. Yes, I wrote that much because I felt so bad for making you all wait this long. Oomph, I know.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: The Birthday Party**

It turns out that being invited to Hinata's birthday party was a bigger deal than I expected.

Each head ninja clan family had been invited to Hinata's birthday party and this fact alone was enough to send the Konoha gossiping mill into an absolute _frenzy._ It wasn't long until there were multiple theories filling the streets as to why one of the most aloof and uptight clans had suddenly decided to become friendly. Some of the more wilder theories told of a jutsu titled 'enormous-stick-up-your-butt' had been cast on the Hyuuga clan and after hundreds of years, had finally worn off and been broken. Although terribly hilarious, and a little bit true, this was not a theory anyone took too seriously. Others seemed to believe that the Hyuuga were simply tired of their isolation from the other clans and were finally making an effort to strengthen bonds. Of course the Hyuuga members were highly respected, sure, but there was nothing really substantial other than that. The Hyuuga were fierce protectors of Konoha and in terms of battling, they were a clan favorite. However, outside of all things ninja, the Hyuuga were incredibly out of their element. The Hyuuga's carried this kind of confidence that bordered somewhere between obnoxious cockiness and haughty arrogance, so they didn't exactly make themselves appear to be exactly 'approachable.' It also didn't help that the Hyuuga tightly upheld their aura of cold mysteriousness. In other words, the Hyuuga were basically people who only hung out with their own clan.

That is, until now.

This whole ordeal was all the ammo needed to turn the gossip mill to be filled with all things Hyuuga and, by extension, the other ninja clans. Usually the gossip was about the shinobi of Konoha but it was taken to a whole new level. Personally, I wouldn't have wanted to go out into public at a time when it was so...sensitive to what was going on. But with Hinata's birthday party being moved up to today in the afternoon, we had no choice but to go out and buy her a birthday present sooner rather than later.

The streets of Konoha were packed with people, flitting around and whispering in each other's ears and exchanging giggles. It was like rush hour, but to the absolute max. It was incredibly slow going trying to get into our desired stores to search for a present. Multiple people rushed up to Aiko to ask her if it was true we had been invited to the Hyuuga clan for a birthday party. Each time when Aiko confirmed, the person had squealed in excitement and ran off to exchange more words with their fellow gossipers. It was a little funny when a particularly buff guy had let out a high-pitched squeal in response to the news. After a handful confirmations, the civilians began to get more bold and began to swarm Aiko and bombard her with even more questions. She was asked to confirm rumours in an effort for people to find out what was true and what wasn't, which nearly all of them were fake. Aiko was admirable in the way she patiently explained that Ino and I had befriended Hinata herself and that was how the invitation thing started. This news was a bit too mundane for the gossip mill, so one person decided to dig a little deeper to find out the 'real' reason.

"No, but _really_ though, tell me the actual reason!" a middle-aged woman asked, leaning in closer to gaze into Aiko's eyes, "I can handle the truth, no need to sugar coat it! I just want to know all the details I can."

"I have told you the truth," Aiko said, her voice a bit too cheery, "there is nothing else to say on the matter." The smile on Aiko's face was strained and seriously the woman in front of us should have taken the hint that Aiko's patience was finally wearing thin. Of course, the woman noticed none of this, but Ino and I took a couple steps backwards in preparation. We definitely didn't want to be caught in the middle of whatever this was.

"Aiko-san, dear," the woman said, shaking her head and tone clearly condescending, "you shouldn't lie in front of your children. Think of the example your setting for them! They'll most likely turn out rotten and the only remedy for this is to be truthful! You should just tell me the truth and be done with it."

Aiko's eye twitched and her smile turned into one so sugary sweet it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I looked at Ino and we both suppressed a shudder; this woman had no idea just how deep the hole she had dug herself in.

"Listen here, Madoka- _chan_ ," Aiko began, emphasizing the honorific and stepping forward to place a heavy hand on the woman's shoulder, "I don't think you quite understand the situation you have put yourself in, so allow me to clarify it for you."

The woman, Madoka, had stiffened at the honorific. It was quite clear the woman was older than Aiko, so the use of it was clearly meant in a mocking way. The woman was quick to glare at Aiko, but completely wilted once Aiko placed her hand on her shoulder. Although I wasn't under the hold myself, I could see that Aiko was holding onto the woman very tightly. Aiko's hand was latched onto the shoulder, wrinkling the woman's shirt, and from her grimace the woman was trying not to let us know she was in pain.

She didn't succeed.

"My children and I were out on a nice little shopping trip when you came up to us," Aiko said, her voice still had that cheerful tone to it, "you proceeded to harass me for answers to a matter you have no business in and when I gave you an answer, you did not accept it. Is this all true so far?"

Aiko squeezed her hand harder and the woman let out a yelp before answering with a quick, "Yes, Aiko-san."

"Then you proceeded to pass judgement on my parenting skills and insult my twins," Aiko's voice began to take on a dangerous tone and from the woman's flinch, she had noticed it too, "I can handle you doing anything to myself, but when you bring _my children_ into this…"

Aiko let her words sink in and the smile was suddenly wiped off her face and was replaced with an icy glare. Madoka had paled considerably and I'm pretty sure her lower lip was wobbling, but she made an impressive effort not to let it get too out of control.

"Did you really think you could get away with that?" Aiko's voice was only a whisper now. Aiko's chakra swept across my mind: the once normal-looking watering can had changed. The hue of silver was slowly shifting into white and the water that resided inside was boiling with a low rumble. Steam rose from the spout and curled into the air, hissing as it did.

I had never seen Aiko this aggravated before.

Aiko didn't give Madoka time to answer because at that moment, Aiko pulled the woman towards her and began whispering something into her ear. It was far too quiet for me to hear, but it was pretty clear it wasn't anything kind. Madoka had completely froze, her eyes were wide in shocked terror and she had even stilled her breathing. She remained that way, listening to my mother in quiet horror. Aiko pulled away, just as suddenly as she had pulled Madoka towards her, and smiled once again.

"Well, Madoka-chan, that was a _wonderful_ talk, but I believe you should get going now," Aiko said, releasing her hold on Madoka's shoulder, "I believe you have overstayed your presence."

Madoka bowed, mumbling a quiet apology, and practically sprinted away from us. Madoka stumbled a couple times before she was officially out of our sight.

"Come along you two," Aiko said, already walking off and leading the way, "we still have Hinata's present to pick out."

Ino and I were quick to follow after Aiko, not wanting to do anything to chance her anger coming back. The crowded street suddenly didn't feel so crowded as people made a wide path for us to walk through. I guess they had seen what happened when they messed with Aiko.

Ino quicked her pace to walk beside me, latching onto my arm and pulling me close to whisper into my ear, "Ito, I have goosebumps."

I looked over at Ino who was staring at me with wide eyes. I took in the little raised bumps on her arms and tried to ignore the ones on my own, "Let's never get on her bad side."

Ino nodded in answer and we followed Aiko into the first store.

The shock over what happened quickly diminished and was instead replaced with stress. I had absolutely no idea what Hinata would want as her birthday present. I mean what would a three year old girl want anyways? Okay, admittedly it probably wasn't this hard to pick an item out. A child that age would practically be happy with anything: toys, clothes, etc. But the thing was, I didn't want to pick out something for Hinata just for the sake of having a present. Presents should be thoughtful and with the title of 'friend,' the matter weighed heavily on my shoulders. This present had to be a good one. Ino, however, seemed to have no trouble picking out a gift and settled on getting Hinata a bracelet. It was our third store we went into, which just so happened to be a jewelry shop. She picked out a simple silver chain, holding it out in one hand triumphantly, "This is the one!"

I gazed at my twin skeptically, "Ino, don't you think we should get her something more shiny?"

"No, this is perfect!" Ino insisted and raised her other hand to reveal what was hidden in it, "It's going to be a charm bracelet!"

I looked at the little charm bracelet and mentally let out an 'aw.' There, sitting in the middle of her palm, was a little purple charm of a bellflower. It was a single stem with three flowers coming off of it in an alternating pattern, two flowers facing the right with the other in the middle facing left. What made it even cuter was the fact that each flower had little pink smiley faces on them.

"Why don't you pick out a charm for Hinata too?" Aiko suggested and I lit up at the idea. This was a perfect fix to my little dilemma! Once again, Ino had inadvertently come to my rescue. I raced over to the display with all sorts of charms and ran a critical eye over each piece. There were many cute and flashy charms, but I eventually settled on getting Hinata a little bear with grey fur and rosy pink cheeks. The bear was laying down on its back and had a huge round stomach which ultimately created an absolutely adorable little charm. I was just about to leave and announce to Aiko and Ino that I had found my gift, when another charm caught my eye. It was a little bird in mid-flight, it was silver with sky blue accents in it. It was made in the perspective as if someone were looking at it from the side, so only one of the eyes were shown. The bird's eye was a single diamond, and although I highly doubted it was an actual diamond, it was pretty nonetheless. As soon as I laid eyes on it, a thought hit me. It was terribly cliché but it was too symbolic to pass it up as a coincidence. I really wanted to get this charm for Neji. Now I still wasn't sure how I was going to save Neji from his fate of getting the Hyuuga curse mark. He was supposed to get it shortly after Hinata turned three and that was _soon._ Hinata's birthday was today and it was only a matter of time before Neji turned into canon Neji. He would have to face the harsh reality of being born into the second branch of the Hyuuga clan. Neji's innocence of childhood would be ripped away from him all at the young age of four.

Suddenly the bird charm felt a little bit heavier in my hands.

" _You remembered about Neji_ ," Yin observed, sounding satisfied, _"I'm glad."_

I wasn't completely taken by surprise by his voice, but I couldn't help the little jump I made as a result of it. I was still getting used to the extra person inside my head.

" _I didn't forget about him! You know I want to save him too,"_ I paused, trying to think of the right words, _"his situation just slipped my mind. I was coming back to it soon though!"_

" _I would have reminded you as soon as we managed to save Hinata,_ " Yin scoffed and I could feel his eyes rolling, " _and I think that charm is a good gift for Neji - even if it isn't his birthday."_

I stared down at the said charm, running my thumb over the wings of the charm. How ironic? The Hyuuga curse mark was known as the caged-bird seal and yet the charm represented something the canon Neji had always wanted: freedom. If I could save Neji, then the bird would simply be a cute charm. I'm sure he probably wouldn't look at it too closely then. He would be free to decide his life and wouldn't be caged from the mark. But if I wasn't able to save Neji, then the bird would only serve as a cruel reminder of what he would never be able to achieve.

" _Should I get this charm for Neji, Yin?"_

" _I just said you should,"_ Yin replied, not unkindly, _"but even if I had a different opinion, it seems like you have already made up your mind."_

That was all the confirmation I needed. I whirled around and ran towards where Aiko and Ino were standing, "I found what I'm getting!" I happily announced.

"Ooh, show me!" Ino bounced up and down, utterly excited.

I revealed the two charms in my hands and beamed. Ino gushed at the two charms in my hands while Aiko spoke, "Ito-kun you know that you can only pick one charm for Hinata-chan, right?"

"Yeah I know kaa-chan," I said and held up the two charms between my index finger and thumb, "the bear is for Hinata and the bird is for Neji. Can we please get him a charm bracelet too, kaa-chan? I don't want him to feel left out!"

Aiko was silent for a moment, debating on whether or not to allow me to do so, "You know it isn't his birthday, Ito-kun. I don't know if we should."

I could not _not_ get Neji this charm! It held way too much meaning and even besides all that, it was a really pretty charm. I had to convince her that this charm was absolutely necessary. I pulled out my strongest card in my arsenal of Yamanaka moves and looked at Aiko with my best puppy dog eye expression. I opened my eyes bigger, furrowed my eyebrows just a bit, and completed the look with jutting my bottom lip out in a pout, "Please, kaa-chan. Neji is my friend too."

Aiko opened her mouth and rose a hand up, a finger pointed, but stopped from speaking and just stared at me. It was silent for a couple of seconds, with me still doing my puppy dog eyes and her simply staring. It wasn't until a couple more seconds that I saw her resolve break away and she sighed, "Alright, Ito-kun, you can get the charm for Neji-kun too."

A bright smile came onto my face and I leaped at Aiko, throwing my arms around her in a hug, "Thank you kaa-chan!"

Aiko hummed and whispered something underneath her breath that I was only able to hear due to my close proximity, "That look is way too dangerous."

I hid a smirk by shoving my face into Aiko's side. Nobody could resist my Yamanaka-Eyes-of-Doom!

"Hey, if Ito gets to pick a charm for Neji, then I want to too!" Ino said, whining at the situation. She immediately switched tactics and began using her puppy dog eyes as well, "Kaa-chan could I please-"

Aiko sighed, although she did it with a smile, "You can pick one out for Neji-kun as well, Ino-chan. So there's no need for you to give me that look too."

Ino brightened and skipped off towards the charm display, singing a tune as she did. Honestly Ino made no effort to hide that she was about to resort to emotional/cuteness manipulation like I did. But hey, if you get what you want then why hide the thrill of success?

After Ino had picked out Neji's charm, a very cute sushi charm with a smiley face on it, Aiko rushed us quickly home saying how we only had a couple hours until the party was supposed to start and that it wasn't nearly enough time. I'm pretty sure if I could sweatdrop like in the anime, I would have chosen that exact moment. As soon as we got home, Aiko was a flurry of motion. She quickly wrapped the presents up where it totaled four small box shaped presents. Two individual ones for the bracelets and the other two with their charms. Hinata's wrapping paper was a mix of yellow, green and purple while Neji's was a mix of silver, red and light pink. After this, Aiko set her eyes on us. She whisked the two of us away and had us change into a set of yukatas that I hadn't seen prior to this moment. Ino's yukata looked like a rainbow had thrown up on her in the prettiest way possible. It was just so colorful and very pleasing for the eyes. The primary colors were shades of purple and pink with a royal purple as the base and pastel pinks as the main accents. There was a myriad of flowers dotting all over it, each ranging in size in various shades. The colors worked well enough together though: white, red, orange, lavender, etc. It was something that was very Ino.

My yukata was simple yet not at the same time. The main color was a navy blue with the sleeve and wrap lining being white. There was a dragon detailed on it that was colored teal blue mixed with shades of yellow, red and green. The dragon's tail could be seen on the right side of the face of the robe length while the head was on the left side. The head lay right over where my heart was, funnily enough. Below the dragon's body was a continuous cloud that was a combination of grey and blue. I actually really liked it.

Next Aiko set about working on our hair. She managed to put Ino's hair in a very neat bun with a couple of flower clips on the side of her hair and a flower hair stick was strategically placed at an angle in the bun. I thought it particularly weird that the flowers on it were bellflowers just like the one Ino picked out for Hinata's charm. We hadn't gotten anything other than presents today and Ino had picked the charm all by herself, so there was no way this was planned by Aiko. I didn't have too much time to dwell on this however, because it was suddenly my turn for my hair to be done. Whenever Aiko did my hair, it always turned into a battle; a battle between me and sleep. Aiko's hands were swift and assured, they were very precise too. I was sure that there was no tangled knot on a person's head that Aiko could not undo. This added with the fact that Aiko hummed when she did my hair was why I had trouble keeping myself awake. I found myself in that weird in-between stage where I wasn't asleep but I wasn't awake either when Aiko patted my shoulder lightly, "All done Ito-kun."

I sat up straight and rubbed my eyes. Once I reoriented myself, I took a look at my appearance in the mirror in front of me. Aiko had pulled my hair back into a braid - it was the kind that started from the front and went all the way to the back. I vaguely remembered it being called a French braid in my original world. The end of my braid reached the upper-middle part of my back. The dark yukata made my skin stand out even more, although I couldn't tell if it made me look paler or tanner.

It wasn't long after that Aiko and Inoichi announced that we were ready to leave for Hinata's birthday party. Aiko had changed into a light blue yukata with emerald green accents on the sleeves and hemline. Aiko's hair was done extravagantly in this stunning hybrid of braid meets bun. It was this intricate swirl of braided hair where each strand could be clearly seen in the form of a braid, yet it was all held together in a tight bun. There wasn't even a single hair out of place! Inoichi had changed into a yukata of his own and I found, much to my amusement, that his yukata colors were the opposite of Aiko. His yukata main base color was emerald green with light blue accents. The green was doing wonders for his eyes, making them stand out vividly in an illuminating display of green. Inoichi's hair was up in his signature ponytail, except it was sleeker and a bit more tame than usual. Both Aiko and Inoichi cleaned up very nicely and it wasn't the first time that I noticed just how good looking the two were.

I mean Ino and I _had_ to get our good looks from somewhere.

The walk to the Hyuuga compound only took the four of us about ten minutes to get there. It was a fairly pleasant day out and the gossiping crowd of the morning had dwindled down significantly. Ino and I had been tasked with carrying the presents: Ino held the two presents for Hinata while I held the two for Neji. Ino made up most of the conversation on the walk there, talking about all things birthday related, "What cake will Hinata have? I hope there's a lot of frosting! There should be three candles too and I hope they're purple! Do you think there's gonna be a lot of kids there? I want to make more friends! Hey, I wonder what Hinata will be wearing? What if we had the same clothes?! Then we would be twins! Oh, don't worry Ito, you'll still be my twin. Hinata will just be my clothes twin. Do you think she'll like our presents? What if she gets so many presents it fills the entire house?!"

Honestly, no one could get a word in with how rapidly Ino was speaking and switching topics. I was kind of grateful for Ino's talkative personality because I needed the time to mentally prepare myself for tonight. The enemy shinobi would strike tonight and if I had any hopes of saving Hinata, I needed to be on top of everything. Yin was helpfully replaying Inoichi's hand seals in slow motion for me, in an effort to solidify what I needed to do. He had said he would help me cast it when the moment came, but it did nothing to quell my nerves. This was going to be my first real exposure to the shinobi world and I was clearly outmatched. No, I couldn't go thinking like that. If I was going to succeed, I needed to believe that I could do so. The very small sliver of a chance that I would stop the enemy ninja was the one I would have to hold onto with all my might.

"We've arrived," Inoichi announced, placing a hand on both mine and Ino's shoulders, "welcome to the Hyuuga compound."

I wasn't sure exactly what to expect from the Hyuuga compound, but I definitely did not expect for it to be so...bright.

The gates of the Hyuuga compound didn't give anything away to the festivities. They stood tall and proud, a cloudy gray against the blue of the sky. It opened up in an 'o' shape for people to walk through and this is where the colors came to life. The main walkway was lined with a pale green rug and the houses lining the street had purple and silver streamers strewn across them. There wasn't much activity at all - no one else was out walking about. I wonder where everyone else was? We walked on the path with the colored rug, passing by very similar houses. Each house was more long than high and each had a very neatly kept front lawn. I would have thought they were all built from the same blueprint, but there was just something distinctive about each house that made it stand out. It wasn't anything visually that made me get this feeling, but it was more of a gut feeling? Each house just felt different to me - hmm, maybe it was chakra residue? Each person had a different chakra to them so maybe this was the reason?

"This is it!" Aiko said excitedly, "The party is being held inside Hinata's house."

Aiko pointed towards a large house that lay at the end of the street we were on. There was a huge crowd surrounding the house's courtyard and oh, so that's where everyone is. The Hyuuga clan members were talking quietly amongst themselves. They all had dark colored hair and pale colored eyes. In order to get into the main house of the clan head family, we had to walk in the middle of the crowd first. Oh boy, I could already feel the embarrassment I would somehow manage to make myself feel. It would just be my luck to do something socially scarring as my first impression for the entire Hyuuga clan.

As we neared the main house, the Hyuuga clan members were slowly being pulled from their conversations to gaze at us instead. It was weird, being surrounded by so much chakra. I've been in crowds before, like this morning, but it was different this time around. This was a crowd belonging to a ninja clan - a group of people who utilized their chakra on a daily basis. Compared to the crowds of civilians, this chakra seemed more...warm? It was like water cascading down my being in a lukewarm wave that was oddly calming. Of course being under the weight of the _entire_ Hyuuga clan's gaze still made me very hyper aware of myself, yet I wasn't as nervous anymore! I knew I was not going to embarrass myself. I was going to make a good first impression and I would-

"Ito-kun! Ino-chan!" a voice called out happily, "I'm so happy that you made it!"

My eyes widened at the sight of Neji Hyuuga making his way towards us. Neji wore an all white yukata: a creamy white as a base and pale white with silver as accents to the outfit. His hair was free, with only his bangs pulled back into a small ponytail. His hair swayed back and forth as he made his way towards us - not really running but not exactly walking either. His pale cheeks were flushed and he had a bright smile on his face. His soft gray eyes were sparkling and radiated with pure joy. All thoughts of the surrounding Hyuuga crowd disappeared as I made eye contact with Neji. A bright smile came onto my face, "Neji!" I ran towards him and threw my arms around him.

Neji caught me, stumbling backwards as he did, and laughed, "You're actually here! I can't believe you're here!"

I pulled away from the hug and gave him a funny smile, "You didn't think I would come?"

"Well," Neji looked a little sheepish, but the bright smile remained, "it seemed like forever ago since I saw you and I really started missing you! I just wanted to see you sooner but I had to wait. But now you're here! Now we can spend the whole day together!" Neji closed his eyes and gave me a closed eye smile. And oh boy, I can definitely see why these particular smiles were the selling points of cuteness in the anime. Neji was a perfect picture example of 'too endearing.' I mean what do I even say to that? How does one respond to such heartfelt words and a cute face?

"I'm happy to see you too, Neji." I said softly. I meant it too - seeing such a friendly face in a crowd of strangers was the lifesaver I didn't know I needed. I decided to return Neji's sentiments and gave him a closed eye smile of my own. It felt a bit weird, smiling without looking at who the smile was directed at. Yeah, maybe there was a reason why I didn't do this often. Was I even doing it right? Hmm, maybe if I tilted my head slightly? They always did that in the anime and it seemed to make it look...more cohesive? Eh, probably wasn't doing it as cute as Neji did but a boy can try right? I heard Neji take in a slight inhale of breath, causing me to open my eyes in curiosity. Neji's eyes were wide and sparkling with something I couldn't identify. His mouth was pressed firmly in a line and he was breathing pretty fast too. Shit, what happened to him?!

"Neji!" Ino shouted, gleefully pulling Neji away from me and embracing him in a hug of her own, "This is gonna be the funnest day ever!"

Neji was mumbling his agreements, with a slightly dazed tone, as Ino rocked him back and forth with the embrace she held him in. He was still staring at me with that same expression. Oh no, was my attempt at a closed smile that bad for me to actually break Neji from responding to anything ever?

"Hello there Neji-kun!" Aiko's warm voice sounded from behind me, "You look very handsome today."

"Aiko-san!" Neji wiggled out of Ino's hold, which was an impressive accomplishment might I add, "It is a pleasure seeing you again and I thank you for the compliment." Neji's demeanor shifted to the classic go-to of a polite Hyuuga. It was essentially just proper manners to the max and didn't really allow and true personality to color the person. However, Neji's eyes were still glittering with the type of glow that an innocent child could have. Plus he had the tiniest of smiles on his face as he returned Aiko's amiable one.

"Always so formal," Aiko waved her hand in a dismissive way, "you have impeccable manners, Neji-kun." Aiko put a hand on Neji's shoulder briefly, to emphasize her compliment, and Neji's face lit up in a glow of appreciation. He stood up taller and bowed deeply to Aiko, "Your words are very kind."

"Ah, so you're the famous Neji-kun that I've been hearing so much about," Inoichi observed, moving to stand beside Aiko, "it's nice to finally meet you, I'm Inoichi."

Neji rose from his bow to give a small smile to Inoichi, "It is nice to meet you Inoichi-san."

An unexpected surge of nervousness arose within me. I'm not sure if I should be feeling this way, but I was actually nervous as to what Inoichi thought of Neji and I found myself wanting Inoichi to like Neji. Hmm, I guess wanting parental approval over friends was something that carried over in every universe.

"Did Ito give you it?" Ino questioned, hopping around Neji in a circle, "Please tell me you like it?"

Neji turned slowly, maintaining eye contact with Ino as she continued on her hopping path around him, "Did Ito give me what?"

Ino whirled around to me, her face a combination of shock and befuddlement, "Ito! You didn't give him the presents?"

Feeling only the slightest bit embarrassed for forgetting such a vital duty, I stretched out the mentioned presents out towards Neji, "These are for you, Neji!"

"But it's not my birthday?"

"We know that," Ino explained, "but we just wanted to give you something too! So take them, please!"

Neji looked at Ino in a happily perplexed kind of way before turning to look at me, his eyes asking a silent question. Upon me nodding in confirmation, Neji gingerly took the presents from my hold, his face unable to contain the wide grin that graced his face, "Thank you Ito, Ino."

"No problem!" Ino sang in answer, before grabbing my hand and pulling me into the direction of inside the house, "Now we're going to say hi to Hinata and give her her presents too! We'll see you later Neji!"

I barely had time to wave at Neji before Ino practically forcibly dragged me inside the clan head Hyuuga's household. Aiko and Inoichi simply waved after us, before continuing a conversation with Neji. Okay, a little bit sketchy that my parents would just allow Ino and I, a couple three year olds, alone to go off by ourselves, but I guess it wasn't too bad? I mean if anything were to happen, Inoichi or Aiko would be pretty fast responders what with being shinobi and all. Also not to mention the fact that we were in the middle of a clan compound filled with some of Konoha's strongest ninja capable of disabling enemies with a single chakra point. Yeah, on second thought, maybe there really was nothing to worry about.

The inside of the house was actually quite nice. The entrance of the house bearing everyone's outside shoes and various house slippers to be worn inside. The inside was set up in a traditional Japanese style with sliding doors and artistic paintings. It was both Ino's and my first time being here and yet Ino knew exactly where to go. The entryway led to the living room, yet Ino took me past it, down a hallway, and took a right to a semi-crowded room. There were various groups of people dispersed throughout the room and there was a table set up in the middle. There were three people that sat there, Hinata in the middle and two very identical looking men who could have only been Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuuga. It was almost scary just how identical the two men were: long black hair, high cheekbones, pale grey eyes, and same stony expressions. The only notable differences were the foreheads: one was clear while another's was marked.

"Happy birthday Hinata!" Ino shouted jovially, with me echoing at a slightly lesser volume, and extended the presents in her hands out to the surprised girl, "Here are your presents from the both of us! I can't believe you're three and now we all match! Also I love your yukata, green is a very nice color on you!"

Hinata was indeed in a green yukata - olive green to be exact. There were yellow designs covering all over it and the bright colors actually did wonders for her. Although she had dark hair and gray (nearly white) eyes, the stark contrast of colorful and not actually enhanced her features nicely. Hinata's hair framed her face and seemed to curl along the contours of her face. She had a yellow flower pin on the side of her face.

"T-thank you Ino!" Hinata said, quickly turning into a blushing mess, "I'm very happy that you two could make it to my party!"

Ino immediately dived into talking with Hinata and took on the responsibility of catching Hinata up with everything that happened between us arriving and now, "The rug is such a nice thing to walk on - I really felt like I was going somewhere special! Which I was cause it's your birthday and this is super special! Also did you know that your front yard is filled with people? Do you know all of them? Hey, are there any other kids our age at this party? Did everyone here give you presents? I bet you're going to like all of them!"

It was impossible to tell what the two elder Hyuggas were thinking; their faces were entirely impassive. Hiashi and Hizashi were watching Ino as she avidly exchanged words with Hinata. How Ino was being so carefree in front of them was so beyond me, I think I was even afraid to breathe wrong. The chakra that the two held were both very similar yet very different. The image that came to my mind was something that represented both Hiashi and Hizashi. It was a massive, thick fog that was split down the middle. The halves were easily distinguishable with one side moving and shifting in size while the other remained stagnant, with a shifting surface. The fog's action was a constant shift in matter. It changed from intangible gas to something as solid as metal. After staring at the sections of fog for a little longer, I came to the conclusion on who was who. The half that was moving belonged to Hiashi and the one that was still was Hizashi. The seal on Hizashi must have been so suppressive that it affected his chakra as well. I knew the seal was connected to one's mind, enabling the non-seal Hyuuga with the power to inflict pain, but I didn't know that there was a connection to the chakra as well. As I continued to view their chakra, the fog suddenly began to split apart even further and separated into their own forms. Did twin chakras do this? Were they similar with only minute differences? Wait, did mine and Ino's chakra act like this too?

Ino's sudden stop mid-sentence pulled me out of the chakra image and she let out a quiet gasp, "Are you guys twins?"

Hinata, seeing that Ino had stopped word vomiting, quietly excused herself to greet another Hyuuga relative that had just arrived at the table, leaving Ino and I to face the Hyuuga twins alone.

Hiashi and Hizashi each rose an eyebrow and spoke in perfect unison, "Yes, we are."

"No way!" Ino squealed, hopping closer to the older twins, "I've never met other twins before! My name is Ino Yamanaka and I'm a twin too!" Ino reached behind her to grab my arm and pull me to her side, "This is my twin brother Ito!"

I waved shyly at the mention of my name, but otherwise remained quiet. Finding out a way to convince Hiashi, the head of the Hyuuga clan, to change the who-knows-how-many-long year tradition of branding the branch family with a seal was seeming a bit too far-fetched. How could I break his mindset that it was okay? How could I change his opinion and do it all within tonight? Facing them right now suddenly seemed like a task too much to handle.

"Ah, the Yamanaka twins," Hizashi spoke, his voice only giving way to a fraction of warmth, "it is a pleasure to meet the friends of my son and niece. I am Hizashi and this is my twin Hiashi."

How Hizashi said that with literally no facial expression was something that flew way over my head. It was a bit unsettling to see, but I guess it came in handy for the shinobi career. But then again, this wasn't a setting where he needed to be so unexpressive. It was a birthday party for crying out loud!

"Neji and Hinata are the best!" Ino spoke, her eyes glittering with joy, "I'm glad we became friends."

"Indeed," Hizashi replied, "Neji has been happier lately too."

There! A final break to his poker face appeared when he talked about Neji. His lips curved upwards in the tiniest of smiles and I would have thought him happy if I hadn't seen his eyes. The smile, a stark contrast to his face before, did not reach his eyes at all. His chakra hit me next. The fog was now releasing a torrent of water before it stilled, but the shifting of the surface had increased significantly.

It looked like it was about to explode.

"You are the older of the two of you," Hiashi observed, "are you not, Ino-chan?"

Hiashi's voice, which wasn't too different than Hizashi if not a little bit deeper, gained the attention of both Ino and I. To an outsider, it would have seemed as an innocuous question but to me it was perfectly clear. Hiashi was determining our worth, pitting each twin against the other and declaring who was the better twin by the terms of who was born first. There wasn't anything particularly sadistic or gleeful in his chakra when he asked it. In fact, there wasn't much of any emotion...it just sort of felt empty.

"I am the older twin," Ino confirmed, standing up a little straighter as she did.

Hiashi's face remained unemotional and he nodded his head in acceptance. Hizashi, on the other hand, was burning holes into the side of my head. I turned to meet his gaze and was shocked to see how expressive his eyes had become. He was gazing at me with something that could only be described as _pity_. He felt sorry that I was born after Ino - that I was the second twin. In the Hyuuga clan, being born second was on the same level as if not being born at all: you didn't matter.

Hizashi Hyuuga felt sorry for me.

He felt sorry for me and I couldn't help but feel disgusted. He shouldn't have to feel sorry for me! There shouldn't be anything at all to be felt, it should have just been a fact. Like the grass is green or the sky is blue, it was just a statement. There should have been no emotional attachment to it. Hizashi feeling sorry for me made my skin boil, because I hated that he had to feel sorry for me. What happened to Hizashi, due to his timing of birth, should never had happened. This anger, I soon found out, was the catalyst I needed to find the courage to do what I needed to do.

I would end this suffering.

"It's hard work being the older twin isn't it Hiashi-san?" Ino said in a conspiratorial manner, speaking in a whisper that wasn't quite too quiet. "My baby ototo is such a handful, is your ototo a handful too?"

Wait, what?! Ino was literally only two minutes older than I was. So her calling me her baby little brother was something entirely annoying.

"Hey!" I said indignantly, crossing my arms over my chest, "I am not a handful! And I'm not a baby either!"

Hiashi's face remained neutral yet his eyes showed a spark of amusement, "How interesting," Hiashi briefly flicked his eyes to Hizashi before returning to gaze at Ino, "my _baby ototo_ is very troubling to handle as well."

"I am _not_ a baby," Hizashi remarked, crossing his arms as well and turning to look away moodily. In any other situation I would have giggled at the sight, but I was doing the exact same thing.

"Ito's forgetful and likes to daydream a lot," Ino commented, pointing towards me with her thumb, "like just a couple minutes ago he forgot to give our presents to Neji! He was too busy daydreaming I bet - probably about being as cool as me!"

My mouth dropped open, "It's not my fault that I forget sometimes! And okay, I do daydream but I do not daydream about being cool like you!"

"You gave a present to Neji?" Hizashi asked, momentarily surprised.

"Well, yeah," Ino said, a bit confused, "he's our friend too."

Hizashi's face went slack in a pleasantly surprised sort of way, his mouth half-way open.

"When we were younger," Hiashi started, the tiniest bit of a teasing tone in his voice, "Hizashi would always take the longest in the bathroom to get ready. He liked to brush his hair exactly 100 times in order for it to be 'perfect.' He always came out looking exactly the same."

Ino burst into giggles at the revelation and I coughed to hide my own laughter. Hizashi's pale cheeks burst into a light shade of red, "I looked good and you know it Hiashi!"

Hiashi rolled his eyes in a, dare I say, playful manner, "Don't get your hair in a knot, it's just a joke."

Hizashi opened and closed his mouth, his cheeks turning redder.

It was very weird seeing the two act like such normal siblings. Hiashi looked rather smug, gazing at his twin brother who seemed to be acting like a fish out of water with how his mouth was moving. Ino's laughter had slowly stopped, a thoughtful expression suddenly on her face, "But being the older twin means something very important."

Hiashi and Hizashi stopped to gaze at Ino. Hizashi was still reeling from his moment of embarrassment, so it was Hiashi who spoke, "And what exactly is that important something?"

"It means," Ino paused just long enough to pull me to her side, her arm slung around my shoulders, "that it's my job to protect Ito. I'm older so I have to look out for him."

I blinked in surprise, turning my head to look at her. Ino was looking at Hiashi with a serious expression and her hold tightened on me. Warmth filled me and I turned to look at the ground with a small smile one my face. Ino really was a good sister.

"That is…" Hiashi's voice caused me to look up at him, yet his eyes were darting towards his younger brother. His gaze first went to Hizashi's eyes before flicking upwards to the mark that was branded on his forehead. Hisashi quickly darted his eyes away to return Ino's gaze, but it wasn't fast enough for me not to see a twinge of emotion flicker in his eyes. I couldn't discern what it was but his chakra was another story. The image of his half of the fog was split another time by a huge gust of wind. The lack of mist in the middle revealed a thick tan rope that was barely holding itself together by a couple of threads. The cloud reformed itself quickly, obscuring the weak rope from view.

"...a very good ideal to have." Hiashi finished his sentence, his voice carefully devoid of any emotion. He was back to his Hyuuga demeanor. I turned to look at Hizashi whose face was just as impassive as Hiashi. I would have thought that Hizashi was unaffected by the conversation if it weren't for his hands. Hizashi's hands were clenched tightly into fists where they rested by his side. The playful mood from the sibling banter was over and if anything, it seemed the two were even more distant than before. They were looking in opposite directions, not taking the chance of meeting gazes again. I knew there was a rift between the Hyuuga twins due to the Hyuuga seal, but seeing how it affected them in person was terribly sad. It was all because of the stupid Hyuuga ideal to protect the main branch that was causing this dissonance between the brothers. They were twins, for crying out loud! I couldn't even imagine going through this life without Ino by my side; without her non-stop talking that was my everyday background noise or her signature heart-melting smiles or the way she was always just _there_ for me. If we were in a similar situation that Hiashi and Hizashi were in, then it would be a very miserable existence.

" _That must be what they are going through,"_ Yin whispered softly in my head, "o _nly much more worse than anyone could imagine."_

I didn't think about what I did next - an action that I found myself doing a lot more lately.

I was just so overcome with emotion that it overrode all sense of logical thought. Hiashi and Hizashi had such a wretched story - one that never ended. They were still suffering, in this very moment, and it would never end for them. If things were to play out according to the canon storyline, then Hizashi would die for Hiashi and the two would never get the closure they needed. They would never get to reconcile and make up for all those lost years from trying to be a 'good' Hyuuga. Hiashi would have to live his life without his twin.

I couldn't help but place myself in his shoes and if something were to ever happen to Ino...I don't think that would be a loss I could come back from.

I walked up to Hizashi Hyuuga and grabbed his clenched hand. His grip didn't relax fully, but it did lessen a little bit - probably out of surprise of my action. But let's face it, if Hizashi was completely surprised or if he didn't want me to hold his hand, he could have easily avoided it. And because of this fact, I took that as a signal for me to continue. I wiggled my hand into the middle of his, opening his fist to where I was holding his hand in my own. His hand swallowed my own, his fingers feeling smooth yet callous at the same time. I looked up and saw that Hizashi was already staring at me, waiting.

"Hizashi-san," I said firmly, but staring into his eyes made me hesitate. I couldn't help but think of what would happen if I didn't succeed tonight. If I failed then Hizashi Hyuuga would be no more.

No, I couldn't think like that.

I steeled myself, with the aid of Yin sending me comforting energy, and continued, "Hizashi-san, everything will be okay."

Hizashi was looking at me with a confused expression, yet nodded anyway. It was the kind of nod you give to a small child when they would talk and you had no idea what they were talking about. I didn't really care that he didn't know what I meant, but as long as he knew I was there to reassure him that's all that mattered.

I patted Hizashi's hand before slipping out of his hold and making my way to the older Hyuuga twin. Hiashi, fortunately, was already expecting this and even held out his hand out to me when I got closer. I took his hand and pulled him a little ways away from where we were standing. Although the distance probably didn't matter, shinobi had pretty good ears, I still wanted some semblance to privacy.

Once I was satisfied at being at least three groups of people away from where Hizashi stood, I turned to face Hiashi.

"You are the head of the Hyuuga clan, are you not?"

Hiashi's eyebrows twitched, the only sign that he realized I was echoing his earlier words, "Yes, that is I."

"Do you want to know how it feels like to be the younger twin?" I asked, doing my best to sound innocent in my request. This time Hiashi rose his eyebrows fully. He was silent for a couple of moments, his eyes going over my face. For a split second I thought that he was going to activate his byakugan on me, but the thought went away when he nodded his head once.

"I feel safe." I gave Hiashi a closed eye smile, tilting my head as I did so. Maybe this look would have a similar effect that it did with Neji? Hiashi made no noise or any hearable indication to respond to my comment. After a couple more seconds of silence, I decided to open my eyes. Hiashi was looking at me, his eyes wide and his nostrils slightly flared.

"Why?" Hiashi asked, sounding mad and desperate, "Why would you feel safe as the younger twin? There are no benefits to being second born; all the rewards go to the oldest."

Hiashi lost his emotion towards the second half of his sentence. His voice became monotone, like he was saying something rehearsed. No doubt it was due to him having it said to him by countless other Hyuuga individuals.

"Because I have Ino," I explained, "she's my older twin and I know with her there she'll always protect me."

A pained look came onto Hiashi's face and it was in this moment that I understood Hiashi Hyuuga perfectly. Hiashi's chakra crashed into me and this time it was completely unfiltered. It was a huge wave of turmoil, filled with regret, pain, and utter despair. I nearly choked at the emotion, but I passed if off with a cough. Hiashi was frozen and his lips were turned downwards at the end. Hiashi Hyuuga was a man who never asked to be given the benefits from being the first born twin. He did not gloat about having power over his brother nor did he relish in being the head of the clan. Hiashi was just a man following after clan traditions - he was just a man who was in just as much pain as his brother. This was eerily similar to the situation that canon Neji and Hinata were in.

"Sometimes older twins cannot be there for their younger sibling," Hiashi said, his voice hollow and his eyes traveled over to where Hizashi stood, "no matter how much they want to be."

The way Hiashi stared at his brother, with such remorseful eyes, seemed to be too much. Hiashi schooled his face and straightened his posture, like he was just remembering where he was. He turned to gaze back at me, his face carefully controlled. He gently pulled his hand away from my hold where it was held near my chest.

I hadn't even realized I was still holding his hand.

"Why do you do that?" I asked, unable to put up with anymore of this icy Hyuuga facade, "Why do you put away your emotions like that?"

"I am the leader of the Hyuuga clan and a shinobi of Konoha," Hiashi stated, his back straightening even more, "there is no room for emotions when you're on the job."

"But this isn't a job!" I struggled to keep my voice at an appropriate level, "You're at home! This should be the place that you relax and be with the ones that you love."

"I hardly think that a child should be telling me what to do," Hiashi's voice was cold, reaching me like a slap in the face, "I suggest you remember your place."

No one had ever spoke like that to me in this lifetime - not even during the rare moments when Inoichi or Aiko would get on to me. I knew I shouldn't be so taken aback by it, I mean, I had a whole other world of experience under my belt, so this should have been a light slap on the wrist. But it was the way he was staring at me with such annoyance that startled me. It was the kind of gaze that made you realize you were walking on a thin line. One wrong move and I would have fallen down to the dangers that lurked below it. I took a step backwards and unwanted tears began to fill my eyes. I bowed towards Hiashi, in an effort to make sure he wouldn't see me cry and to ease the situation, "I apologize Hiashi-san for my behavior."

"...I accept your apology," Hiashi said, his voice surprisingly quiet.

I couldn't wipe my eyes without revealing that I was on the verge of crying, so I just settled for holding my tears back by sheer force of will. I straightened out of my bow and looked at Hiashi, but not directly at him.

I didn't think I could face those eyes again.

So, I settled for staring at his neck as I talked, "I won't cause any more trouble at this party. I only want this to be the best day for Hinata."

Hiashi didn't talk and nodded his head, a motion I detected through my peripheral vision. The end of the conversation had arrived, but I couldn't just leave without saying one more thing, "You said you were the leader of the Hyuuga clan which means you have people who listen to you. You could make things better. You could change everything, if you wanted to."

I didn't give Hiashi the chance to react, because I turned around and made my way back to where Ino was. I hastily wiped away the tears that lingered and hoped that I looked somewhat presentable.

Lucky for me, I didn't have to go all the way back because Ino was suddenly in front of me, "Hey Ito! Guess who just arrived to the party? Sasuke did! Also there were a couple other kids our age that arrived too. We can go meet them and-hey, are you okay Ito?"

The unexpected question made me stutter, "What-what do you mean? I'm totally fine!"

"You look like you've been crying," Ino pointed out.

"No, I was-"

"Who made you cry, Ito?"

"I just yawned!" I blurted out, "Yeah, I yawned and then it made my eyes all watery, that's it."

Ino narrowed her eyes at me and stared at me long enough to make me start to fidget. She relented with a sigh, "Fine, you yawned. Now let's go see Sasuke and meet the others!"

Ino grabbed my hand and led me towards a corner of the room, but my head was filled with one word 'fuck.' I may or may not have just literally messed up everything with that encounter with Hiashi. Now he'll never give me another chance to approach him and I could probably forget the whole sleeping over thing. After me forcibly prying my way into the Hyuuga dilemma and letting my emotions get the better of me? Yeah, it was safe to say that I had messed up.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

It shouldn't have surprised me that every head clan's children showed up.

In hindsight, I should have realized just how significant this whole party was. Not only was this a major event for Hinata, it was her birthday after all, but it was something entirely different clan politics wise. This would be a huge step in bringing the Konoha clans to a whole new level of a show in camaraderie. Showing up to this gave one points in respect and it would be social suicide if one were to skip out on a personal invitation from Hiashi himself. A part of me already had expected some of the clan kids to attend, but it was extremely odd to see most everybody all together like this - at such a young age too. Even in canon times, the Konoha Twelve hadn't all met one another until the chunin exams. The clan children were all huddled in a little corner that had a padded rug and a table filled with snacks and drinks. Sasuke was the first to greet us. His presence had been a pleasant surprise as I didn't think the Uchiha clan would have come considering their whole dojutsu rivalry with the Hyuuga clan. But alas, clan politics won out and blah blah blah. Sasuke was sweet, giving Ino and I a hug before launching into a tale that revolved around Itachi (something to be expected) and himself and their adventures since I had last seen them. I should have given Sasuke a better greeting in return, one that had my full attention, but I was slightly sidetracked with the introduction of new chakra of the various clan's children. This time it happened in a weird way.

It was like pointing to an object and stating what it was; like how a chair would be a chair or how a shoe would be a shoe. Each chakra signature came to me already pre-labeled. Chōji Akimichi stood near the middle of the snack table, happily munching away at the offered snacks and completely oblivious to the mess of crumbs littering the front of his kimono. Kiba Inuzuka was also at the snack table, shoveling in sweets into his mouth. His cheeks didn't yet have the signature Inuzuka symbol of the twin red triangles. How odd? Shikamaru Nara was laying down in the middle of the rug, knocked out in slumber or at least pretending to. His hair was pulled back in a ponytail, but it was loose and numerous locks had fallen free. Actually, on second thought, the guy might actually be asleep. Hyuugas were never known for their rowdiness and this party certainly wouldn't be one neighbors would complain about. Plus that hair was a sure sign of someone who was in a deep sleep. Shino Aburame stood the farthest away from the little corner of clan children, but not far enough away he was out of the corner either. The glasses he wore were the kind that had the strap that wrapped all the way around his head.

"I can't believe I'm the only girl here!" Ino huffed, blowing away a non-existent strand of hair out of her face.

"But there are tons of girls at the party," Sasuke pointed out towards the Hyuuga women of the clan scattered throughout the crowd, "so you're not the only one."

"No, no," Ino shook her head, "I'm the only girl here. Like right now." Ino gestured around her, indicating the kids around her too.

Sasuke made an 'o' shape with his mouth and nodded in understanding. Ino sighed and looked away at the ground dejectedly. I nudged Ino with my elbow, causing her to look up at me, "Hinata should be here soon. When she comes then you won't be the only girl."

"Hey, you're right!" Ino's mood brightened, like a flip had been switched, "C'mon Ito! Sasuke! Let's go make some new friends!"

The word 'friends' was enough to bring Sasuke on board, although I had a sneaking suspicion the boy just wanted to have more people to talk to about Itachi. Ino led the way over to the snack table to where the more approachable, or at least conscious, people were at. Sasuke was quick to follow after Ino and they were soon making conversation.

"Hey, do you need a napkin?" Ino asked to Chōji mid-bite.

"Wha-?" Chōji's mouth was full, but he somehow managed to talk without any food showing. It was pretty impressive what with how stuffed with food his cheeks were.

"Your tummy has crumbs on it." Ino pointed down to Chōji's yukata where it was now more food than cloth. How he managed to make an even larger mess in the span of a couple seconds, I don't know.

Pink colored Chōji's cheeks and he nodded, "Could you han me ah nahkin pleasth?"

Sasuke handed him one, "Here you go. You should always eat slowly and take your time. My nii-san says that you should be careful so you don't choke and that-"

That was my cue to tune out of the conversation. Ino did good to start at the snack table; it had the most approachable people at it. Sure, I wanted to make friends with Chōji and Kiba, but I was certain I could do that in a little while. Right now, I wanted to handle things one on one. I turned away from Ino and Sasuke and began walking towards the would be shinobi-bug user. Shino was gazing at the conversation taking place at the table, but turned his head to acknowledge me as I got closer. I wasn't sure exactly how to greet him, though. Do I give him a hug or would it be better to bow? Would a high-five suffice?

"Hi there! My name is Ito Yamanaka, what's your name?" I gave him an extra warm smile and yeah, I guess a hand wave will do.

"Shino Aburame," Shino's words were short but nicely enunciated, "it's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too!"

Shino didn't offer any other topic to talk on, but didn't disengage from the conversation either. He was still turned towards me, yet remained silent with his eyebrows slightly furrowed. Well, Shino wasn't very talkative in the anime, so I guess I'll have to pull an Ino and do all the talking.

"Why are your glasses so dark?" I asked, trying to strike a conversation in the quiet boy.

"I wear glasses to see better," Shino explained, "and they are dark all the time. Why? It's because my eyes are sensitive to light and they are dark to not hurt my eyes."

Huh, at least now I know why all the Aburame clan people wore tinted glasses. I wonder if it was tied to the fact that they were hosts to insects that slightly impaired their vision's sensitivity?

"You have straps on your glasses. Why's that?"

"I need straps on my glasses because I...I sometimes...they like to fall off my face without my permission. The straps help them not fall off my face."

Shino had on a kimono that I was sure was very nice, if there wasn't a huge trench coat blocking it from view. The only discernible thing I could see of it was that it was navy blue. The jacket was similar to the one in his academy days where it had a high collar that blocked his mouth from view. The collar wasn't high enough to cover his ears, which turned a red shade as he talked.

"That's nice," I commented, nodding towards his glasses, "I think they make you look cool."

"Cool?" Shino's eyebrow rose and his tone was confused.

"Yeah! I think you look very cool Shino!" I nodded my head for emphasis, "Oh, I hope it's okay I call you that?"

"I don't mind." Shino's ears turned darker and if I hadn't seen them, I wouldn't have known his reaction to our first meeting. Well, I guess I could have gleaned something from his chakra but that comes and goes. But, I was glad that this was going well.

"Do you like insects?" Shino asked abruptly, like he couldn't stop himself.

"Insects?" I reiterated, thinking aloud, "Hmm, I know they help the plants out so yes, I do like them."

Working in a flower shop, it was hard not to appreciate what insects did. I mean without bumblebees and butterflies how would we get flowers? How would there be a balance in the ecosystem?

Shino went quiet again. It was at this moment that I wished he didn't have such dark tinted glasses just so I could see what his expression was. Had I said something wrong? I knew I had to be careful because Shino was part of the clan that had such a symbiotic relationship with insects, but I didn't think I said anything too criminalizing?

"I like insects too," Shino's voice came out slightly breathy, like he was in disbelief. Disbelief over what, I didn't know. Not really knowing what to say to that, I just simply smiled at him. Shino was actually pretty nice.

"I uh, I need to use the bathroom," Shino suddenly said, backing away, "I will be back soon."

Shino darted away before I could say anything else. Okay then?

I turned back around and noted that Ino and Sasuke were still talking to Chōji and even managed to entice Kiba to join in on the conversation. Kiba's raucous laughter and Ino's high giggles erupted from the table accompanied by Sasuke's stifled laughter. Chōji stood with a satisfied smile - aw, he must have made them laugh. My gaze went to the lying figure of Shikamaru and I couldn't help but grin a little. Of course, the noise wouldn't have woken him up. I made my way to the sleeping boy and knelt down beside him. He was laying down on his stomach with his head lying on the back of his hands. There were strands lying over his face and this was the first time I was seeing his hair down, well kind of. His hair was long enough to reach past his chin but not long enough to pass his neck.

"Hey," I whispered at the sleeping boy, poking his cheek lightly.

Shikamaru didn't even twitch. Dang, could he sleep.

I poked his cheek slightly harder, multiple times, "Hey," I spoke in my normal voice.

Shikamaru's first sign of consciousness was in the way his lips turned slightly downwards. His left eye opened and a groggy, "What?" greeted me.

"Are you sleeping?"

A bewildered expression came onto his face, "I was."

Shikamaru rubbed his eyes yet made no move to get up from off the floor. I crouched down on the floor and moved to where I was lying down next to him. Looks like we were talking on the floor then.

"My name is Ito," I introduced myself, "what's your name?"

Shikamaru lazily returned my gaze, but his eyes were very much alert, "You're weird."

My mouth dropped open. He thinks I'm weird?!

"No I'm not!" I finally manage to get out, "You're the weird one. Who sleeps at a birthday party anyways?"

My comment didn't have an effect on him like it did me, unfortunately. He simply shrugged and closed his eyes again. Okay, was he really going to go back to sleep now? In the middle of our conversation too. Just when I was going to pull something out of my ass to keep the conversation going, he spoke, "I'm Shikamaru."

"Can I call you Shika?" I poked the boy in the cheek another time.

The said boy opened his eyes and just stared. I was abruptly reminded with a startling fact that Shikamaru was literally a genius. I'm not sure if it was the whole reincarnation into a Yamanaka that made me more interested to minds, but Shikamaru's mind piqued my interest. Going through the mind of a genius would be interesting. Not that I wanted walk through his mind, but I was just reeling from the fact that Shikamaru was only a couple of inches away from me.

"Sure, I don't mind," Shikamaru nodded and this time kept his eyes open, slowly blinking at me.

There was something about his gaze, like he was solving a hard math problem. It was calculating, yet not judgmental. I returned his gaze, blinking when he blinked and that's how we remained for a little while. Hmm, maybe I wasn't so great at making the whole friendship thing. I was lucky I was able to snag Neji, Hinata, and Sasuke. Their young ages gave me the wiggle room to ask to be friends and that was all it took. However, as I grew older, I knew it would take much more than a simple question to obtain that status as a friend. With Shikamaru though, I was nervous. I didn't think he was gullible enough to believe we were friends with just a couple of words. I felt like with him, I had to approach him differently.

But what did you say to keep a child genius entertained?

"Could I braid your hair?" I found myself asking after no other better alternative.

"You know how to braid?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, but couldn't quite manage to do so without raising the other one a little.

"Well," I sat up to where I was laying on my elbows, "I watched my kaa-chan do it plenty of times before."

I would like to say I had some experience in my past life, but honestly I don't think I knew how to do it then either. But it was true, Aiko had a thing for braids and with Yin's help, I was sure I would be able to get it done correctly.

" _It's going to be the best braid ever done by a three year old."_ Yin commented in a very determined fashion.

I mentally snickered. Who knew Yin would have a competitive streak in him?

" _I'm you, you dork,"_ Yin said exasperatedly, _"If I'm competitive then that means you're competitive."_

Oh yeah…

"So you don't know how to braid then?" Shikamaru concluded, his question sounding more like a statement.

"I know the idea of braiding," I defended myself, "how hard can it really be?"

Shikamaru gave me a look that clearly said I should doubt my ability to do so. He sighed and got himself up into a sitting position - a really slouched over one, might I add. He took out the hair tie in his hair and let the rest of his black locks fall down, "What a drag...let's get this over with."

"Thank you!" I leapt up and moved closer to him. I couldn't believe he actually said yes?! And he even said his famous catchphrase too!

I was gentle in my approach, I didn't know if he was tender headed or not. I knew I started off with three strands of hair and okay, yeah I didn't know which one crossed over the other. How were three strands going to cross over anyways? Wouldn't this be much easier with two strands? See, with two _that_ I could do.

" _Uh, a little help please?"_ I thought out to Yin.

" _Here's what Aiko did when she braided our hair."_ Yin said before supplying the correct memory and doing a frame-by-frame of how Aiko did the motions. _Oh_ , so you alternate the crossing. Then you grab more each time you go down? Well, alright then. I did the motions I was seeing in my head onto Shikamaru's hair. His hair was soft and was quite dense; those strands of hair had some weight to them. Despite the heaviness, it was a medium sort of thickness which I guess balanced out. It didn't take me long to finish since Shikamaru had relatively short hair. As I reached the end of the braid, Shikamaru wordlessly raised his hair tie up to me.

How thoughtful.

I plucked the hair tie out of his hand and tied off the braid, completing it, "There! I'm all finished!"

Shikamaru reached up to gently pat his head, feeling the intricacies of the work I had done to him. His pats were thorough and actually had a purpose, like he was looking for something. He started at the top, feeling the tightness of the braid and his hands wandered down to the sides and ends, seeing if there were any loose hairs. I was proud to say that there wasn't a single hair out of place. Although, that was the best part of it. The braid was slightly lopsided and one strand was way thicker than the others.

"You did a good job," Shikamaru complimented, "thanks."

It was only a couple of words, but it filled me with pride.

"You're welcome, Shika!" I beamed at the boy and sat down beside him on the floor.

Shikamaru was staring at me again, but I was already used to it. I don't think I wanted to know what was going through his bright little mind just yet. I readjusted myself to a more comfortable position: my legs laid out in front of me while my weight rested on the palms of my hands behind me. All in all, I would say this was a pretty decent first meeting.

"Ito!" a very familiar voice sang out towards me, "I'm coming over to you now! And I have new friends for us!"

Ino skipped over to where Shikamaru and I sat, skipping around us twice before sitting down across from me, next to Shikamaru. Sasuke came over, gently sitting down next to me and Chōji sat on the other side of Ino. Kiba sat diagonally from me to my right, between Sasuke and Chōji.

"Guys, this is my baby twin brother Ito," Ino introduced with a wave of her arm and a smile that promised trouble, "Ito this is Chōji Akimichi and Kiba Inuzuka. Our new friends!"

A chorus of giggles followed Ino's introduction with even Shikamaru managing an upwards tilt of his lips. Chōji and Kiba managed to wave in the midst of their laughter. Yeah, Ino seems to never miss her chance to remind me and others that she was the older twin.

"Hiya boys," I smiled brightly to each, "I'm glad you guys are meeting me: I'm the cuter twin."

More giggles filled our little circle. I turned to Ino with a triumphant expression to which she just rolled her eyes and blew a raspberry at me. Her face was quick to turn into a smile though and she giggled along with the others.

"Everyone, this is my friend Shikamaru," I introduced the now braided haired boy, "but I call him Shika! And I also just braided his hair too!"

I was a little nervous bringing in the whole title of being a friend as I wasn't too certain where Shikamaru and I stood. Was it too soon for him? Did I even meet his requirements? He did say I was weird, so was I too weird to be his friend? But then why did he let me braid his hair? Shit and I couldn't even take back what I said because _I just said it_. I should have asked first or maybe I should've kept my big mouth shut. Watch, I just ruined all chances of being his friend.

"Hello." Shikamaru waved once, lazily blinking at the crowd of kids before him.

Okay, maybe I didn't ruin all my chances.

" _You panic way too much."_ Yin chastised, clicking his tongue.

" _And you just watched as I panicked?"_ I thought to him, scandalized that my own conscious (so to speak) was totally unhelpful in my moment of hysteria. I mentally felt Yin shrug, before he stuck out his tongue and threw up a peace sign at me. How very cartoonish of him?

" _That's what I was going for_ ," Yin chuckled, _"now don't bother me any further. I'm going to go through the hand signs again to make sure I have everything down."_

Huh, that was actually a good idea. But wait…

" _Weren't you the one who talked to me first?"_

" _Minor details,"_ Yin pushed my thought aside, literally. I felt it leave my conscious mind and everything, " _I'll talk to you later."_

Then it was like Yin shut a door on me; I couldn't feel his presence as clearly anymore. Geez, I knew he had to concentrate but did he really have to shut me out like that? Out of my own mind, no less?!

"You did a nice job on the braid, Ito-kun," Chōji said, a kind smile on his face, "I like it a lot."

"Thanks Chōji-kun, you're very sweet," I returned his smile, "and you can call me Ito! No need for the '-kun part.' All my friends call me that."

Chōji's smile grew wider, "Alright! Only if you do the same for me then!"

"You got it!" I raised my left hand and sent him a thumbs up. I was going to say something else but changed my train of thought when I noticed that Chōji's upper yukata was clean of all crumbs.

"Hey Chōji, you're all clean now." I said, pointing to the spotless item of clothing.

Chōji's face turned pink and he began fiddling with the ends of his sleeves, "Oh, you- you noticed that?"

"We helped him clean up," Sasuke piped up, "I did what my nii-san always does when there's a mess and grabbed a napkin for him. After some swipes, then all the crumbs disappeared and he was good as new!"

Dang, Sasuke really idolized his brother huh?

"Ito-kun," a slightly nervous voice said from behind me, "I have returned from the bathroom."

I turned around towards the voice and saw Shino standing behind me, "Shino!"

I leapt up from where I was sitting to stand beside the boy, "Everyone this is my friend Shino Aburame! Please be kind to him!"

Shino's ears turned dark again, "Friend…?" he whispered underneath his breath.

Ino jumped up too, "You, Shino, are the most coolest person I know - besides me, of course. I love your coat! You look like you're this super cool ninja! My name's Ino and I'm Ito's older twin sister. You have to tell me where you got this jacket!"

Ino's sudden attention on Shino shifted the entire group. Since Ino was busy conversing with Shino, Sasuke took it upon him to start a conversation with Shikamaru. Due to Chōji's closeness to the pair, he joined in on the talk too. Looks like it was my time to speak to Kiba.

I walked over and sat down next to the olive-skinned boy, "Hi!"

"Hey! I was-" Kiba stopped mid-sentence to sniff, "what is that?"

"What's what?"

"That smell?"

"What smell?"

"It's coming from," Kiba followed the scent, sniffing all the way until he stopped at my shoulder, "you! The smell is coming from you!"

A tidal wave of warmth rushed into my face and _what the fuck_ did Kiba just say I smelled?! This was utterly embarrassing, like words cannot express just how bad this is. The Inuzuka clan were known for their companionship with their ninkin and utilizing special techniques in combat. Additionally, they took on some certain characteristics from the ninkin as well, such as: heightened eye-sight, sharper teeth/fingernails, and _an enhanced sense of smell._ If there was going to be anyone to smell anyone out of course it would be someone from the Inuzuka clan. The one with the bad smell just had to be me, didn't it?

"Do I smell bad?" I asked him, my voice sounding very small. I looked down at my hands in shame and my face probably looked like a tomato.

Kiba sniffed me a couple more times, "No, it's not bad. You just smell a little...different is all."

"Is it a good smell then?" I asked, my mood immediately perking up. Thank goodness I didn't smell awful!

"I never smelled anything like it before," Kiba shook his head, backing away from me but sent me a toothy smile, "but it's nothing too smelly. It's like wanting to smell an apple and getting the smell of oranges instead."

I blinked at him. This was not what I was expecting.

"Your nose can smell that well?" I asked him, impressed. Although I knew that, it still amazes me that it was an actual possibility.

"Your nose can't?" Kiba asked, tilting his head and giving me a wide eyed expression. His face erupted into another toothy smile, a little lopsided, "Just kidding! Us Inuzuka's have great noses you know. We are able to smell a scent like a kajillion miles away."

A small giggle came out of my mouth, "That's so amazing!"

Kiba's hand rose to the back of his head and smiled in a bashful sort of way, "Eh, it's nothing too great, but thanks!"

"No problem!"

Maybe everything was going to turn out okay. I made friends with more than half of the Konoha Twelve and this was progress! I had a feeling that everything was going to work itself out very well.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

Yeah, my feeling couldn't have been more wrong.

It was all good and dandy during our little bonding session. Hinata and Neji were soon to join us and then it turned into a real party. Ino was so happy that Hinata, another girl, had joined our mostly-boys group that her energy literally tripled. Kiba, not wanting to feel left out, mirrored Ino's energy and the two were a whirlwind of destruction. Chōji, Shikamaru and Shino ended up chatting most of the time teaching one another on their clans. Turns out Chōji had a secret fascination with bugs, particularly with butterflies. I wouldn't say that Shikamaru had any real interest, because he did. I just think the new information was stimulating for his mind, like he was storing it all away for future use. That means I was stuck with Neji and Sasuke which I thought would be the world's most horrible combination. However, to my pleasant surprise, the two got along really well. It was a stiff greeting, but the two were quick to warm up to one another once they both found out the other wanted to become a strong shinobi of Konoha. Sasuke would tell stories of his 'great nii-san' while Neji would trade stories of his 'powerful tou-san.' It was very cute, if I'm being honest.

Then it was time for lunch and that meant _cake_. Of course this added even more excitement to our little group, but it was all bottled up because cake was going to take place after the main meal. The set up was interesting with multiple tables set up in the huge dining room. The clan heads and their family sat at one table together with Hiashi, Hizashi, Hinata and Neji sitting at the head of the table on either end. The table was filled with multiple conversations and I was lucky enough to snag a seat besides Shikamaru. It was amusing seeing his kaa-chan, Yoshina Nara, remind him to eat his vegetables. Yoshina was very much a headstrong woman and was not afraid to make her thoughts known. Although she could come off as almost abrasive, I knew that she had a good heart. She was just looking out for her only son, after all. Shikaku Nara, on the other hand, both completely intimidated me and made me want to ask for his autograph. He had the carefree posture and looked-bored-yet-still-managed-to-look-interested persona down to a tee. But it was ruined by his eyes. If Shikamaru's eyes were like spotlights, then Shikaku's eyes may as well been a spotlight powered by the sun. It was like everything you did, he had already predicted. Or he was deciphering you from your soul out. Like I said, I was very unnerved but it was overruled because I really did like Shikaku.

Lunch was quick and the eating of the cake was even quicker. Presents were something meant to be opened in private, a thing out of respect. We all played with one another for a while and during the peak of our fun, I decided to give Hinata a little idea.

"This is such a fun day, right Hinata?" I asked the girl during a water break we both just conveniently happened to take at the same time.

"The most fun day ever!" Hinata smiled at me, all teeth. It was nice to see her so happy.

"I wish the fun could last even longer," I said, adding a pout for effect, "but I think we may have to end up leaving soon."

"Oh…" Hinata's smile dropped off and she stared at her cup dejectedly.

"Hey! I have an idea!" I said, feigning sudden surprise, "What if you had a sleepover?! Then the fun could be all day and night!"

Hinata stared at me with the brightest smile ever before running off to Hiashi to tell her the great idea. I wasn't going to lie, I was a bit nervous if Hiashi would allow it. And even if he did allow the sleepover, would he let _me_ sleep over as well. The memory of our encounter ran through my mind and worry filled me.

It was quick to dissipate however, because Hinata had returned with good news that Hiashi had allowed it. However, not everyone was able to stay for the sleepover. Kiba had to go back home due to something happening with the ninken. I think one of them was close to giving birth soon, so Kiba had to be there to see if he bonded with any of the new puppies. Shino had to leave because he was going to go camping with his father - an educational trip to learn more about insects and how to survive in nature. Shikamaru and Chōji weren't able to stay due to them having to learn how to work in their respective family businesses: Chōji with the Akimichi chain restaurants and Shikamaru with the medicinal creation and distribution for Konoha. Anyways, that's how the rest of us were laying down on blankets in Hinata's room. It was a gigantic slumber party with hardly any floor space left because we were all taking up the space. Hinata lay on her bed with Ino since she was the only other girl. I was lying down on the floor in between Sasuke and Neji. We had been laying down for about thirty minutes and Hinata and Ino were still whispering to each other. Sasuke was telling another story about Itachi, this time talking about how his beloved brother loved dango and how Sasuke couldn't stand the sweet filled dessert. But I wasn't paying any attention.

I was far too nervous for what would come next.

The enemy ninja would be here soon and I had no real idea when they would arrive. I tried extending my chakra detecting radius outside the room to see if I could get a feel for any unfamiliar chakra, but I only succeeded in giving myself a headache. Looks like I was just going to have to wait and the suspense was even worse. I knew what was coming, but I just didn't know _when_.

A loud growl interrupted my worry filled thoughts and for a second I thought, _the enemy ninja brought a fucking bear with them_. But when I didn't feel anything different in the room, I turned to where the noise came from and found Sasuke holding his stomach.

"I think I may be hungry again," Sasuke said, a little sheepish that his stomach made such a loud noise.

"Did you want to go grab a snack?" Neji asked, propping himself up on an elbow, "Or can it wait till tomorrow morning?"

Sasuke's stomach growled once again, louder, "Maybe sooner is better than later."

"Are you hungry too, Ito?" Neji looked at me, sitting up properly this time. His hair was pushed to the side, over one shoulder and down his back from when he was laying down.

Wait a minute, if we left the room, then maybe we could be out of the room and the enemy ninja would come in when we were gone! This could give the chance of him being discovered faster. In a house full of Hyuuga, I don't think it would take them long to find out an enemy in their midst. And if all else fails, it would give me time to distract myself for a little bit.

"I could eat," I sat up myself, brushing my hair behind my ears and out of my face.

"Right," Neji stood up and reached out a hand for me to help me up. I gratefully took it, mumbling a thanks to which Neji sent me a soft smile.

"Where are you guys going?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah and where was our invite?" Ino interjected.

"The kitchen for some snacks," Sasuke supplied, wrapping a blanket around his shoulders, "did you guys want to come too?"

"Of course!" Ino said, jumping up and pulling Hinata along with her.

"Let's go then," Neji said and led the way out of the room. He slid Hinata's door open and we all stepped out into the hallway. Ino skipped forward, pulling Hinata along and pushing her to the front beside Neji. We were rounding the end of the hallway, into another hallway that led to the kitchen and that's when I felt it. It was like being out on a hot, humid day and then someone who's sweating profusely is clinging onto you. It was uncomfortable and it was burning and I just wanted _out._

The enemy ninja was here.

That was my only warning. I grabbed the back of Neji and Hinata's pajama shirts and pulled them backwards. I did so just in time, because then the intruder was there. The shinobi was a male whose head was covered in bandages and his forehead protector was diagonal similar to that of Kakashi Hatake. The symbol on it bore Kumogakure's insignia and the man had a goatee. His eyes were hard, unreadable and he gazed at our little group with disdain. He looked at Hinata and his lips turned upwards into a cruel smile. Then his chakra changed. It curled around towards Hinata, circling her like a shark before striking its prey. Then his thoughts reached me…

Horrible visions reached my mind. After he took Hinata away, he would rendezvous with his team and once they were far enough away then they would extract Hinata's eyes. He would send off his team who would carry the eyes back to Kumo in a scroll. The man would then volunteer to kill off Hinata, because they only wanted the secret to the dōjutsu after all. They did not need the little girl, but he would be lying. He would take Hinata and then he would...raise her to be his own slave. Despicable and utterly revolting images filled his head and it took everything in me not to puke.

This man was a monster.

" _Yin!"_ I yelled out to the inhabitant of my mind, because I wasn't sure if I could focus correctly on my own. There was too much at stake and I needed to end this now. The sooner I could do so, then the better. The Kumo shinobi reached his hand forward to grab at Hinata, but I clutched her tighter to me. I would not - _could not_ let this monster get his hands on Hinata.

"Listen, let's just make it easier and hand over the girl." his voice came out more as a growl and he reached out towards Hinata one more time.

It was Neji's turn to react and he shouted, "Byakugan!" before striking at the enemy shinobi's hand with a hand covered in chakra. The man from Kumo yelled, grabbing his affected hand in pain where it lay limp.

"You fucking twerp!" the man spit out and reached his able hand into his pocket to bring out a kunai.

His hand was suddenly thrown backwards, pinned to the wall by a well aimed shuriken.

"Don't touch any of us," Sasuke said, his voice firm.

Woah, Sasuke had been the one to throw it? Where had he even gotten one?

" _I'm here, Ito!"_ Yin said , his voice calm yet his tone was urgent, _"Here do these hand signs and I'll take care of the rest."_ Yin showed me a series of hand signs and I hurried to replicate them. I pushed Hinata backwards before doing so, where she landed into Ino's arms. The man growled and ripped his sleeve through the shuriken. He lunged out towards us just as I finished with the last sign. I wasn't sure what sort of genjutsu the hand signs would lead me to but the execution was something that took me by surprise. I thought that after doing the hand seals then boom, the effect would just happen. I was not expecting a thin strand of purple chakra to zoom out from the middle of my forehead to the Kumo man in the same spot. The oddest thing about it was that the purple line was being swirled around by another black strand of chakra. Oh, that must be Yin. The intruder had frozen mid-action and it looked like he was barely breathing too.

" _He's completely under the genjutsu,"_ Yin stated, a relieved tone to his voice, _"is there anything you would like him to see?"_

" _Could I make him do something instead?"_

" _Like what?"_

" _Make him fall asleep,"_ I said, " _I need him out of the way so Hiashi won't attack on sight. But make sure he has a nightmare - his worst fear."_

" _You got it!"_ Ito commented and I felt him doing something similar to pushing a button. The man from Kumo fell the floor with a loud thud causing Hinata and Ino to scream. Hiashi and Hizashi were in the hallway in less than a second. Hizashi grabbed us all and got us to the end of the hallway in the next second while Hiashi knelt beside the unconscious shinobi. Kō was the next to come into the hallway, accompanied with a couple other Hyuuga relatives. Hiashi pulled them aside, whispering to them but I was pulled back to Hizashi when he stepped in front of my view.

"Are any of you injured?" Hizashi's voice was steady and his eyes darted over each of us to see if we had any visual injuries.

"Tou-san," Neji said, his voice filled with relief, "we're all okay. Thank you for getting here on time."

Hizashi's shoulders lowered, a little tension leaving his body as he was reassured by his son. Hiashi came next to his twin brother, his expression neutral, "What happened?"

We told him everything. How we left the room to go get some snacks and ran into the enemy ninja and how he was targeting Hinata. I made sure to emphasize the heroic acts of Neji and Sasuke in efforts to save Hinata, with Hinata backing me up. Then Neji got to the part where the man simply fell to the floor, as if knocked out. I didn't mention the fact that I was the one to make him do so. I didn't want to put it out there that I was already able to execute such a move that required exquisite chakra control.

"Tou-san…" Hinata's voice was watery and she leaped towards her father. Hiashi accepted her with open arms, hugging her tightly to him.

"Thank you Neji-kun for protecting my daughter," Hiashi nodded towards Neji, who stood up straighter at the praise before bowing.

Hiashi turned towards Sasuke next, "Sasuke Uchiha, you brought in an unauthorized weapon into my house…"

Sasuke stiffened. I stood next to him and grabbed his hand for comfort.

"And you ended up using it to save my daughter's life," Hiashi finished, nodding to him as well, "I thank you as well."

Sasuke relaxed and bowed to the head of the Hyuuga clan.

"I have sent for your families to meet here and pick you up," Hiashi informed us, "I will personally take care of this intruder."

Hiashi turned around, with Hinata in his arms still, and began to walk off. But I couldn't let him walk away without knowing the full extent of what happened or rather what was going to happen.

"Hiashi-san," I called out to him, "can I please speak with you?"

Hiashi regarded me silently for a couple of seconds before relenting and nodded. He stopped to kneel down to Hinata's height once more, whispered something to her, then stepped to the side a couple of steps. I followed him and when we were sufficiently away, I began speaking, "There's something you need to know."

"And what is that something?" Hiashi inquired.

"It's about the enemy ninja," I started off, fidgeting with my fingers, "I'm a Yamanaka and I know that only means so much, but I'm a bit more sensitive to others than normal. So when I first met that...man, it was horrible." My eyes began tearing up and I clutched my hands tighter. But I had to keep going. He _had_ to know.

"Please send him to my tou-chan," I urged the head of the Hyuuga clan, "let him look at his mind. Please."

Hiashi Hyuuga remained silent. Then he did something that surprised me. He reached out to rest his hand on my shoulder, "Do not worry," I gazed up at him to see his lips curving the tiniest bit upwards, "I will make everything right."

/*****/

Hiashi Hyuuga was furious.

The thought that someone would even _dare_ to trespass into his house was unthinkable. The idea that someone would come into his home and harm his own family was an idea that would guarantee one's immediate termination. That's what Hiashi wanted to do at that very second. When Hiashi had seen the foreign ninja in the hallway of his home and the vulnerable forms of the group of children, he wanted to make sure the enemy nin would never wake again. But what Hiashi couldn't figure out was how the shinobi ended up being knocked out. How the threat was already managed without his interference made him disappointed. He wanted to make him pay.

" _Please send him to my tou-chan…"_

The words of the younger twin, Ito Yamanaka, rang through his mind. He supposed it was for the best. It would be better to bring this man to justice and have him face punishment in a more legal manner. The consequences would certainly be no less better than what Hiashi would have done to him. Facing Inoichi Yamanaka was no picnic in the park. The Kumo shinobi would not walk out of this unscathed. As an extension, Kumo itself would not get out of this without answering for their actions. Hiashi had recognized the enemy ninja as the head ninja from Kumo. This meant that it was directly tied to the ninja village itself.

And what would his wife think of all this? Hama was busy travelling out of the village between pregnancy specialists as she was having some issues during her pregnancy. If he told her what their daughter had been through, she would surely go on a rampage. He didn't want to put any stress on her as it could be harmful to her and the new baby. She would be home in a few days time and he wanted everything fixed upon her arrival.

Hiashi was glad when Inoichi had arrived with the other parents. Inoichi had arrived shortly after being summoned and darted towards his twins, enveloping them in a bone-crushing hug. The young twins had been strong the entire night, both unwilling to shed the tears that lay in their eyes. But as soon as they were in the safe embrace of their father's arms, they had both cried. In between sobs, he had watched as Ito managed to speak to Inoichi and it wasn't long before Inoichi was in front of him as well.

"My son, Ito, told me about the enemy ninja," Inoichi had begun, "and he revealed what the ninja's intentions were."

"To steal the secrets of the byakugan, no doubt." Hiashi guessed.

"That and…" Inoichi hesitated, before pushing on, "well, I'm going to personally take on the interrogation. Ibiki-san will also be there as well and if what Ito says is correct, which I think he is, then this man will never know a day without pain ever again."

Hiashi was concerned, his eyebrows furrowed, "What else could they possibly want with my daughter?"

As soon as he had asked the question, his mind had already come up with an answer. One that made him want to rip the Kumo ninja apart cell by cell and then put him back together just to start all over.

"We'll get everything out of him," Inoichi's voice was cold, "I can promise you that."

If Hiashi had been furious before, he was downright raging now. But his flaming emotions had been momentarily doused when Fugaku Uchiha had approached him next. It was no secret the rivalry between the two dōjutsu wielding clans. It didn't help that Fugaku and him had been personal rivals in their Academy days, but this moment was different.

"Fugaku-san," Hiashi had greeted the clan leader, "I would like to extend my gratitude to you for your son's actions tonight. Although he did bring a weapon into my house, he acted in saving my daughter's life."

"Like I would let my youngest son come into a rival clan's house unarmed," Fugaku remarked back and Hiashi couldn't quite tell if he was joking or not, "but I am proud of my son's actions."

"I expect that you want something out of this as repayment?" Hiashi had guessed after Fugaku remained after obtaining gratitude.

"Never one for small talk, Hiashi-san, you are still the same," Fugaku said, a smirk on his face that disappeared as quick as it had shown, "but you would be correct."

"What would you like as your reward?" Hiashi was hesitant to hear what the clan leader had to say next.

"Connections."

Fugaku's answer was perplexing to Hiashi. He was expecting to be forced to tell some clan secrets or maybe even a share in some stock investments, but connections? That was not what Hiashi had been prepared to hear.

"Connections?" Hiashi was confused.

"Yes, connections." Fugaku confirmed with a nod, "I will not pretend we both do not know where the Hokage's right hand man and his minions stand when it comes to the Uchihas. I would like to put aside our clan's differences and act to a more peaceful era for both of our clans. Perhaps a more public demonstration?"

Hiashi caught on, "You want the Hyuuga clan to help the image of the Uchihas by forming ties with them publicly. All this in an effort not to be ostracized in your own village? I won't pretend that I have been unaware of this, but this request I would have never expected from you Fugaku-san."

Fugaku's face was still, "That is my only request."

His son did just save his daughter after all. Plus it didn't really harm the Hyuuga clan, if anything it would only benefit them. By forming ties with the Uchihas it would only serve to strengthen Konoha.

"Consider it done." Hiashi agreed.

Fugaku's face remained impassive, but he tilted his head forwards, "I appreciate this, Hiashi-san."

It was a bizarre sort of encounter.

But besides all this, the youngest Yamanaka was intriguing to say the least. When he had first heard that his daughter and nephew had befriended the Yamanaka twins he had been shocked. He had no idea how the friendship had initiated so fast, but he was happy nonetheless. Hinata had come home, the happiest he had seen her and announced the news to him. Neji was the same and the two practically begged to allow invitations to be sent so the twins could attend the birthday event. Hiashi was hesitant, but one look into their faces, he knew he couldn't refuse. So Hiashi did one better and invited all the clan head families. He did it partly to include the other clans as it would be rude to invite only one clan and partly to increase his daughter and nephew's chances of making more friends. It was a wild success, but he wasn't expecting for the youngest Yamanaka to be so forceful.

Ito was not aggressive, but he did make himself heard. And when he had pulled Hiashi to the side and talked to him about being the younger sibling? It was almost like he knew his own twin situation perfectly. And that's what hurt Hiashi the most was seeing the two Yamanaka twins interact because _it reminded him of himself and Hizashi._ Before it was told to them that he would be the clan leader and that Hizashi would run the second branch family. Before Hizashi was branded and with that cursed seal. Before their relationship was tarnished by the expectations of their clan. Before they were miserable, they had been happy. They were inseparable. Hiashi was thankful that he had been born with his best friend as a brother and just when he had thought that life could only get better, it got so much worse instead. The Yamanaka twins made him yearn for a time when it was that easy for him and his own twin. But unfortunately, that time was long gone.

" _You are the head of the Hyuuga clan, are you not?"_

Ito's words rang through Hiashi's head once more, making him scoff, but with no real emotion behind it. He couldn't decide if it was cheekiness or idiocy that made the boy repeat his own words back to him, but it had the desired effect of catching his attention. But that's who Hiashi Hyuuga was: he was the clan leader of the Hyuuga clan. Being the leader meant everyone looked up to him and there were so many expectations. He had to lead wisely and be a strong shinobi, strong enough to keep the secret of their beloved dōjutsu out of enemy hands. He had to be fearless and unwavering. Emotion was meant for the weak and family was only a title. That's a lesson that had been drilled into his head. It was the ultimate honor for family to sacrifice themselves for family. That's why it had been divided all those many years ago, to protect the secret of the byakugan. That's what it all revolved around: the clan's dōjutsu.

Sometimes Hiashi Hyuuga found he really hated it.

He loved his clan more than anything, but he also loathed it just as much. He would never forget the day his younger brother was branded with the seal. How he was forced to watch as the seal was seared onto his younger brother's forehead and how he was to watch a demonstration on how the seal worked. The screams that came out of Hizashi's mouth were a common recurrence in his nightmares. He despised his clan for even starting this barbaric tradition. What nobility or honor is there in causing harm to the ones you're supposed to hold the closest?

" _You said you were the leader of the Hyuuga clan which means you have people who listen to you."_

Of course he had people who listened to him, but the clan leader could only do so much. There was the advising council who were traditionalists to the very core. There were some people of the main branch that loved to abuse their power over the second branch and would hate to see it go. But on the other hand, the members of the second branch family would back him up. And if it meant finally ridding his brother of that dreadful seal...maybe they could pick up where they left off all those years ago.

But it was practically treasonous of the clan: to eradicate a tradition that had been upheld for hundreds of years? It was unheard of, so why did change have to start with Hiashi himself?

" _You could make things better."_

Hiashi couldn't deny this. He would be able to take away the oppressive pain from the second branch members. He would be able to finally be able to do something nice for his younger brother. He would be able to finally make the choice of choosing to be a good older brother before being a good Hyuuga. Hizashi was his identical twin but there were differences that only he had noticed. Hizashi rarely ever smiled and his eyes looked empty most days. It was like seeing a vacant shell of a human walking around. He used to be so happy…

For fuck's sake Hizashi and himself had seen better days and it was all in Hiashi's hands to make those days a reality again. But could he really do it? Was he willing to face the consequences of changing clan tradition in an effort to make himself not feel guilty anymore? To end the suffering of his brother? To free the family members that were practically enslaved?

" _You could change everything, if you wanted to."_

Hiashi wanted to. He really, truly wanted to change everything. If it was for his brother, someone he was never able to do good for, then Hiashi would leap at the chance. So why did he hesitate?

"Hiashi-san, both my son and your daughter are asleep but they refused to be separated. I have taken the precaution and set up guards outside of their room."

Hiashi was shaken from his thoughts and stared at the very man that filled his thoughts. Hizashi Hyuuga was standing before him, face completely blank. The dark green seal was lit up under the night's moon beams. It was as if the universe itself was shedding light on the biggest issue that had weighed on Hiashi's mind. A problem that weighed on his heart the very moment the seal came into existence.

He used to be so happy...

Hiashi was not oblivious. He knew his brother held some form of ill feelings towards himself and he couldn't blame him. Hizashi was the one that had to be scarred while Hiashi got away without a mark, literally. But what Hizashi didn't know was that he was in just as much pain. Every time he had to use the power of the mark over his twin brother or he had to watch another main branch family do it to him. The way Hizashi would writhe on the floor. How Hizashi would learn how to contain his screams. How Hizashi would tightly close his eyes and count under his breath to take his mind elsewhere. Counting like he did when he was younger in an effort to chase his fear of the dark away. Hiashi would remember counting with him, holding his hand, and stating that how as long as his older brother was there that Hizashi would never have to be afraid.

Hiashi had failed. He was the most sorry excuse for an older brother and he was tired of it. He was tired of being a failure. He didn't want to always act how others wanted him to. His actions were his own and he was the fucking clan leader at that. Hiashi Hyuuga would start acting independently from now on.

"Hiashi-san?" Hizashi's eyebrows were furrowed the tiniest bit, "Are you alright?"

Hiashi hated most of all how distant he had become with his twin. Hiashi was suddenly overcome with the need to do something: the need to change everything.

"Hizashi-san," Hiashi started off, but no that didn't sound right, "no...Zashi?"

That felt better.

Hizashi's eyes widened at the use of his old nickname from childhood. He was so surprised he could only stare at his older brother.

"Zashi I-" Hiashi stepped forward to his younger brother, "I would like to thank you for raising your son so well. He saved Hinata's life and even awakened his byakugan in doing so. He has real talent."

"Thank you," Hizashi answered, getting over his shock and going back to normal because no, Hizashi would not get his hopes up, "I'm glad he could protect someone from the main branch family."

Hiashi frowned. This was wrong. This wasn't how the conversation was supposed to be going.

"I think he proved his valiant efforts for a lifetime," Hiashi went on, hoping to get his message across, "I don't think he will need to be reminded to do so. He already has the drive in him from the goodness of his heart."

Hizashi was confused and his heart was beating fast. There was no way his older brother could be implying _that?_ But, he had to make sure…

"Hiashi-san are you implying that," Hizashi struggled to form the words, "Neji, my son, will not have to...have to get the seal mark?"

"That's exactly what I'm implying."

Hizashi was ecstatic! His son wouldn't have to endure what he had gone through. Hizashi couldn't count the times he lay awake at night, worrying about the impending doom that was awaiting his son when Hinata turned three. He only wanted Neji to have a better life than he did and it seemed like that was becoming a really real possibility.

"Thank you Hiashi-san." Hizashi bowed his head towards his older brother, unable to contain the smile lighting up his face.

Hiashi felt warm but it wasn't enough. It was like a small drop in an empty bucket, because Hiashi had been so neglectful. He wasn't finished yet and he had a feeling he would never stop wanting to make it up to his younger sibling.

"Zashi," Hiashi stepped closer to where the siblings were only a couple inches apart, "you've suffered so much because of me, haven't you?"

Hizashi froze, wide eyed and speechless.

"I'm so sorry for everything you had to go through," Hiashi continued, "I want you to know that I _never_ wanted this. I never wanted you to get that horrid seal or to think you are lesser than me. I hate that you went through so much and that I was never there for you. I hate, no, I loathe myself for taking this long. But I think I can make things right."

Hiashi made his hands go through a flurry of hand signs before finishing and touching the middle of the caged bird seal on Hizashi's forehead. Like paper in water, it disappeared from sight.

"Hiashi did you? Did you just-" Hizashi stuttered out in disbelief.

At Hiashi's nod, Hizashi ran to the nearest window to gaze at his reflection under the moonlight. Staring back at him was an image he never thought he would see again: his forehead was free from the seal. Hizashi touched his forehead in an incredulous way before turning to his older brother who had gotten down onto his knees and was bowing on the floor.

"I have been so bad to you, Zashi," Hiashi whispered, voice wrought with pain, "I just sat back and let everything happen to you. I was the clan leader and I did nothing as you suffered every day. Although your pain was my pain, I didn't allow myself to think of you. I was too worried about what the clan elders thought but now I don't give a shit about what they think. I just- I just miss the way we used to be. Seeing the Yamanaka twins made me so nostalgic and now I'm just so regretful. I loathe myself and I understand if you loathe me too. It took me years to do a single good thing for you. I'm so terribly sorry Hizashi I- I just- I don't know how I'll be able to make it up to you. Or if you'll even allow me back into your life, but the truth is I miss you Hizashi. I miss interacting with you and seeing you brush your hair 100 times. I-I miss having you as a brother."

Hiashi was crying but he didn't care. All the guilt and sorrow he filed away came crashing back down onto him. He felt so useless and so very disgusted with himself.

"Ash?"

Hiashi's head rose up slowly, at the use of his nickname - a name he hadn't heard in years. Hiashi's eyes widened at the sight of Hizashi crying before him.

"Thank you for releasing me of that mark," Hizashi gave his brother a half smile, "and I want you to know that I don't care."

Hurt rang through Hiashi's chest, "You don't care?"

Hizashi shook his head, "Yeah, I don't care."

Hiashi felt his heart sink into his stomach.

"I don't care that it took you this long," Hizashi elaborated, "I don't care that you're only realizing this now. All that matters is what you do now. Everything that happened in the past is done, we can't do anything about it. You're making an effort to do the right thing now and I...I appreciate it."

"You don't hate me?" Hiashi whispered out.

"I never hated you Ash," Hizashi gave his brother a sad smile, "sure I was angry and maybe I was jealous that you were seal-less, but I never had such ill feelings for you. Even if it may not look it, I understood you were in a rough spot too. You know, clan traditions and all…"

It was all Hiashi had to hear before scrambling up and yanking his brother down into a hug. Hizashi had tensed up at the action, but eventually loosened up into it. When was the last time the two of them had hugged?

It must have been when they were kids, Hiashi thought bitterly.

The two remained like that for several minutes, soaking in the affection that could only come from a brother.

"Hey, Zashi?"

"Yeah, Ash?"

"I'm going to take all the seals off and there will be no more second branch," Hiashi spoke in a rush, like if he couldn't get it out now it never would come out, "and it'll probably be chaos for a while, but honestly I don't care. I'm going to make everything right."

Hizashi's answer was to squeeze his brother tighter.

* * *

 **A/N: Before I do anything else I'd like to address a review I received: "This is just so mushy… doesn't feel like the naruto world at all. Please tone it down a bit."**

 **I love constructive criticism and am always open to hearing suggestions! However, addressing this review, I would like to clarify that this is exactly what I was hoping for. I purposefully am making the beginning of this story especially mushy, fluffy and just plain cute. This is what childhood is about: innocence and wonder. The Naruto world is brutally dark, I have no illusions about that and I am leading up to this concept. I just wanted to make a stark contrast between "the good old days" and "where stuff goes to shit." It is wonderful to hear feedback from you all, but please have faith in me. I am very aware of my story and how it is being portrayed, so just trust in me. This is all leading up to greater meanings and life lessons that Ito and the others need to learn.**

 **These fluffy, heart-warming times will not last forever. The harsh and cruel reality of the Naruto world that we all know and love will come soon - as you have seen a little bit towards the end of this chapter. I'm trying to ease you in lol.**

 **But wow, this chapter took forever to write. I was initially busy with schoolwork, finals, then an internship but it all came down to just writing. I had some stuff written up but I really wanted to put my vision onto the paper so it took a lot of formulating and drafts to get this. My vision for this chapter changed a lot, but I'm satisfied with where it went. I hope that it didn't drag on and I know there were a lot of introductions to new people, so I hope none of you got lost along the way. This was so incredibly long as well, but I didn't have the heart to break it up into parts because I have deprived you all of an update. This was very fulfilling to write and I just would like to thank you all for your continuous support. Even though I take literally the longest time ever, you are all still here and that means the world to me. I will try to get the next update out much sooner!**

 **A nice steaming plate of chicken alfredo with a basket of garlic bread for your thoughts?**


	6. Chapter 6: Aftermath

**Chapter 6: Aftermath**

The following days after Hinata's birthday party were, for a lack of better words, very interesting.

Interesting in the sense that I wasn't allowed to leave the house. When Ino and I had gotten home, Inoichi had spoken in hushed tones with Aiko before changing into his shinobi gear. I assumed it was because he was going to go work his mental magic on that horrid monster from Kumo. Before he left, Inoichi made a point to give Ino and I hugs, whispering the words "I love you."

Aiko came to us next and began looking for any sign of injury. She was calm, which she always seemed to be in times of trouble. When she was finished with her checking, she stopped to crouch down to our level. She didn't say anything, just had Ino and I stand side-by-side as she caressed the both of our cheeks. Aiko was staring at us with such a warm gaze and her chakra swirled with boundless love.

"I'm so glad you two are safe," Aiko said softly, her calm composure cracking as tears welled up in her eyes.

Oh no.

"You don't have to worry about us kaa-chan," Ino said, trying not to cry herself.

It was a different kind of sadness seeing a parent cry. Even when it wasn't something super emotional or my own pain that I was feeling; seeing Aiko cry was enough to make tears come into my own eyes as well.

"Yeah, kaa-chan," I piped up, trying to give her a reassuring smile, "we're strong! Nobody can take us down!"

Aiko gave a laugh, wiping away the wetness in her eyes, "Of course! What was I thinking about worrying? You are my brave little ninjas, aren't you?"

Ino and I nodded our heads, not fully trusting ourselves to speak. I felt like if I said any more words I would really start crying. Ino clutched my hand in hers and I knew that she felt the same way.

Aiko pulled the two of us into a giant hug, "But I am your kaa-chan, so of course I'll worry."

We remained in that hug for a long time.

I expected Inoichi to come home the next morning, but he ended up not coming home for three days. In those three days, Aiko made excuses as to why we couldn't leave the house. She said we needed rest from of the birthday party, needed to spend quality time at home, etc. Neither Ino nor I complained too much. I mean we _had_ just escaped a life-threatening situation, so Aiko was allowed to be a little paranoid. However, Aiko still had the flower shop to run and since Inoichi was busy torturing and all that fun stuff, it was up to her to do it. Since she was in the something-bad-happened-to-my-kids-and-I'm-never-letting-them-out-of-the-house-again phase, Ino and I weren't allowed to even go with her to the flower shop. In lieu of this, Fū was assigned the role as babysitter.

Normally I would have been overjoyed at my cousin's presence, but he was acting weird. For one thing, Fū was always within arms' reach. He never even so much as left the room that we were in! I'm not even sure if he left to use the bathroom, which could _not_ have been good for his bladder. Another thing was the slightest noise would set him off. A bird could be happily singing a tune outside the window and Fū would tense up, eyes alert, and stare at where the sound occurred. The tenseness would only last a couple of seconds before he relaxed and continued playing with us like nothing had happened.

So between Inoichi not being home, Aiko not letting us leave the house, and Fū acting like an overprotective watchdog I didn't know anything about what happened after Hinata's birthday party. It was driving me crazy not knowing if Neji was currently depressed with a seal on his forehead or if Hinata was actually recovering from the incident at an appropriate pace. Plus I couldn't even ask anyone without seeming very suspicious. I'm sure asking Aiko what the current state of the Konoha village and the welfare of the clans would be an appropriate conversation to have with one's three year old son. Despite the worry clawing at my mind and my not-knowing-anything situation, I was surprisingly well entertained or, in my case, well distracted. Fū would bake cookies shaped like Konoha's leaf symbol with us, have drawing competitions of who could draw the best ninja, and even taught us how to fold some origami. Well, tried to teach us how to fold origami anyways.

"I don't think mine looks like yours," I pouted, holding up the horribly disfigured paper monster in my hands. It literally looked nothing like the masterpiece Fū held. Fū had given us really pretty paper to fold: a midnight black sheet with gold intricate designs over it. A piece of paper Fū had expertly folded into the shape of a fox in mid-run. Mine looked more like it had been attacked by a bear, turning it into a blob with ears and a tail.

"Art is supposed to be about self-expression, so it's alright that yours does not match mine," Fū said, patting my head gently, "what matters is that you tried to do it. If it's not to your liking, then all you have to do is keep practicing until you get it to how you like it."

Fū's eloquent use of words were enough to set me back a little. It was awfully kind for Fū to use such a roundabout and pretty way to tell me that my origami fox was ugly. I'm pretty sure that if I was born into the Naruto world with no memory like I should have, then I would have just been told a pretty useful life lesson. But since that wasn't the case, I was allowed to act however I wanted.

I held up the paper disaster right next to Fū's and pouted even more.

I wasn't even that offended that it looked bad. I mean, if I really wanted to do well then I could have just applied myself better. But I was more intrigued to see how Fū would react to my shenanigans. He managed to simultaneously react just how I expected him to, yet still manage to surprise me. It was like watching a favorite movie that had a different ending each time.

"There's no need to pout Ito-kun," Fū chided lightly, rubbing my cheeks to smooth my expression, "you're a very bright kid and I have no doubt you'll succeed in anything you set your mind to."

It was like speaking to my own personal motivational speaker.

"Well _I_ like how mine turned out," Ino stated proudly and held her work up proudly.

In the middle of her palms was a crinkled ball of paper. I didn't know exactly what it was she made, but she was awfully proud of it. I looked up at Fū and saw him looking at Ino with a happy smile, "I like how it turned out too Ino-chan," Fū complimented her.

Ino smiled at held it up high above her head, as if wanting the whole world to see it, "This is the prettiest paper snowball ever!"

I couldn't help it. No, I could not help it. I wrapped Ino up in a hug and giggled into her shoulder. Just how? How could Ino be this utterly endearing?

"Careful Ito, don't ruin it," Ino said, patting my back, "I'm gonna give it to tou-chan when he gets back."

I pulled away from her and turned to Fū to ask him a question but paused because he looked so...peaceful. There was finally no weirdness about him or any tenseness either. He simply sat there, legs crossed and arms in his lap, and looked completely relaxed. He had a soft smile and his golden eyes were honey today. Fū was content and I didn't want to mess it up by asking what Inoichi was doing gone so long. Doing so would only remind Fū of the whole birthday fiasco and I didn't want overprotective Fū back so soon.

"Fū, can you tell us what it's like at the academy?" I asked, changing my original question to something more innocuous.

"You want to know about the academy?" Fū clarified, blinking in slight surprise.

"Yeah! Tell us about it please Fū?" Ino pleaded, easily going along with my suggestion, "We're going to go there soon so is there any cool things to know?"

"Well, there's not much to tell…" Fū tried to play coy, but cracked at Ino's and I's unwavering expressions, "Okay, okay I'll tell you."

Ino and I cheered before settling down more comfortably. I opted to lay down on my stomach while Ino laid down on her side.

"At the academy, you learn all the things needed to survive in your future career as a shinobi of Konoha," Fū explained, "there are mathematics, writing, and economics that are pretty standard for a learning institution. However, there are courses that are taught to nurture shinobi tactics such as deception, chakra-building and even wild-life survival. You'll be assigned a classroom with a designated teacher. Although, you will rotate from time to time, your homeroom teacher and class will be the group you will be with for the rest of your shinobi academic career."

"So does that means you're in a class with your friends all the time?" Ino interrupted, a look of amazement in her eyes.

"Yes, I suppose it does," Fū chuckled in answer.

"Who are you friends with?" I inquired my cousin.

This was something I was genuinely curious about. I really did wonder who Fū interacted with? I know in the past, he had a bit of trouble with making connections with people due to his childhood. However, he managed to make somewhat of a bond with Itachi and Shisui, if our encounter with them was anything to go by. I wonder who else he knew?

"There are many people that I get along with - though I suppose they would be considered acquaintances," Fū mused, scratching his chin in thought, "but if I were to really say who were my friends...the first person that comes to mind would be Itachi-san. He has a very calming personality and it's always easy to talk to him about anything. I thought we wouldn't have become friends at first, with him being two years younger, but I'm glad that we are. Not to mention his natural ability for excellence at any task. Itachi-san motivates me to become a stronger shinobi every day."

Fū was talking animatedly now, a happy smile on his face, "Next would be Shisui-san, who is quite possibly the funniest person I know. He's always cracking up jokes and has a very amiable aura about him. I remember this one time where he - well, actually maybe that story isn't quite appropriate for your age, but just know it involves a stick of dango and the front of Shisui's pants. Anyways next is Hana-san. She's one of the best hand-to-hand fighters of our class and is on the path to being a ninkin-medical specialist. Her three ninja hounds are rowdy, but they're a good bunch so I guess by extension they're my friends too."

Bypassing the whole Shisui and the pants thing, which was something not entirely surprising, I was a little speechless. Fū, the same boy who once had trouble opening up and letting people into his heart, was now excitedly talking about the precious people he considered friends. From how bright his eyes were to how energetically he was talking with his hands, it wasn't hard to see that he was happy. However, the matter of _who_ his friends were was another matter entirely.

I knew that Fū had known Itachi and Shisui, but I didn't know the extent of their bond went that deep? Also when the heck was Hana Inuzuka in Fū's class?! This bit of information completely took me by surprise. There seemed to be way more character overlap than I had originally thought. Who knew Fū had it in him to make so many friends? Wait, who am I kidding? Fū was absolutely wonderful and I completely understand why anyone would want to be his friend.

"Oh! He would probably ignore me for a whole day if I told him that I forgot to mention him," Fū exclaimed in sudden realization, "but I also consider Kō-san a friend as well."

Hold up, what?!

"Do you mean Hinata and Neji's cousin?" I asked, a little breathlessly because _holy shit maybe Fū would be able to tell me something._

"Kō Hyuuga. Yes, I think he has mentioned Hinata-chan and Neji-kun a couple of times." Fū thought aloud, "I suppose I should have made the connection sooner, but oh well. He's a good friend as well. Doesn't seem like it, but he's crazy about fashion and the whole looking like a 'cool shinobi.' Which he has admittedly very good skill in."

"How has Kō-san been lately?" I tried my best to be nonchalant about the whole thing, but I don't know how well I pulled it off. My voice came out too eager and I pulled Fū's hand towards me as if I could physically pull the answer out of him.

From the look Fū was giving me I don't think I succeeded in being nonchalant, but luckily he decided to answer anyways, "He's been alright. Why the sudden curiosity for only him in particular? Of all the friends I listed he was the only one that you-"

Fū stopped talking, his eyes widened impossibly large and he froze. His eyes got glazed over and he stared off somewhere into the distance. I looked over at Ino, silently asking her if she knew what was going on. Ino shrugged and I sighed so we just sat there waiting for Fū to snap out of whatever he was going through. Turns out we didn't have to wait long because Fū took a large inhale of breath before he grabbed me and pulled me closer to him.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise, not expecting the sudden movement from him. Fū was looking at me with a panicked gaze, clutching my shoulders, yet not so hard it caused me pain.

"Ito-kun do you..you don't…," Fū took a deep breath before trying again, "do you think Kō-san is handsome? Do you like him?"

My mouth dropped open and my only response was to blink stupidly at my cousin. This conversation took a turn I was definitely _not_ expecting. What kind of crazy question do you ask a three year old?

"Oh no, you do don't you? That's why you've gone quiet," Fū whispered to himself, eyebrows pulled in worry, "well I wasn't expecting all this to happen so soon. Course I want you to be happy Ito-kun, but with Kō-san? Does your crush have to be on someone so much older than you? I would much prefer it someone younger or wait if I prefer anything, I would prefer you to wait until you're much older to be with someone."

Someone please tell me this wasn't happening. Fū could not be giving me a lecture about this right now. There was no way I would be able to get any details about the Hyuuga clan from Fū now, he was far too gone with worry.

"Fū," I deadpanned, giving him a very serious expression.

Fū shut up and once I was sure I had his undivided attention, I continued, "I do not want Kō-san to be my boyfriend. Stop worrying."

It was like watching a filled balloon letting air out. Fū's being relaxed as all previous stress left him. He patted my cheeks with both hands and let out a relieved, "Good. That's good, Ito-kun."

"Yeah, that's crazy Fū," Ino said, scrunching her nose in confusion, "Ito doesn't like Kō-san like _that_. If anything they're just like friends."

"Ah," Fū nodded his head and smiled sheepishly, "thanks for clearing that up Ino-chan. I think I got a little carried away."

"Besides," Ino began, smiling a smile that promised only mischief, "Ito likes Neji anyways."

"Ino!" I shouted indignantly at the same time Fū shouted "Ito-kun likes Neji-kun?!"

Ino nodded, "Mhm. And that's not all; Neji likes Ito too."

Yeah, that's how we broke Fū. It was utter chaos between the three of us. Ino was singing mine and Neji's names over and over while skipping around Fū and I. I was trying to ease Fū's worries by saying that I did not have a crush on Neji, but it was like talking to a brick wall for all the good my words were doing. Fū went into a trance like state and was muttering plans to keep Neji away from me in order to protect me from cooties. It would have been funny had his worry not been too real. Fū began thinking aloud plans with a recurring theme of duct tape scarily enough and whispering how he didn't want me to grow up too fast.

Long story, short that's the scene Aiko walked in on. The front door swung open and Aiko sang out an "I'm home!" before stopping in her tracks. I'm glad Aiko had arrived when she did because she made quick work of remedying everything. After a firm couple of reassuring sentences, she had managed to alleviate Fū of his worries. She even had me state to Fū that I was not looking for a boyfriend until I was older. I had to say these words. Me: a three-year-old saying I did not in fact want Kō or Neji to be my boyfriend. Yeah, I couldn't quite believe I had to say that sentence either.

Aiko arriving home meant that it had just hit mid-afternoon and she wanted to get an early start on dinner. Fū was staying the night tonight so it was going to be a fun evening together. Now that the whole boy debacle was over, Fū was acting his normal self. The rest of the day was spent with all of us playing puzzles, practicing braiding, and having Fū tell us more of his academy days. It was a pleasant surprise when Aiko even participated in telling us her stories as well. By this time, it was night fall and we were all lying on Aiko and Inoichi's bed. Fū was lying at the foot of the bed, splayed out and fast asleep. Ino was at the side of the bed with a pillow firmly in her grasp, knocked out as well. I was the only one awake, well semi-awake at least. I was laying with my head in Aiko's lap as she lay with her bed against the head of the bed. Aiko had stopped telling her stories a while ago and instead began singing softly and stroking my hair. It was a fatal combination and completely destroyed my will to stay awake. I was at the precipice of slumber and alertness when I felt something I hadn't felt in a couple of days. It was a familiar warmth that wrapped out to hold around my figure, filling me with love and feelings of safety.

Inoichi was home.

"Everyone's asleep I see," Inoichi's voice filled the room, the smile on his face could be heard through his voice.

"Took you long enough," Aiko greeted back and I could hear them share a kiss before feeling Inoichi's weight sink into the mattress beside us.

"How'd it go?" Aiko asked, her voice light but the topic was anything but.

Inoichi sighed, "Too much happened."

It was silent for a couple moments, but it was enough for me to come to full awareness. I wasn't really sure what was going on but I pretended I was still asleep. I made sure to send a thought to Yin, asking if he could replicate my chakra levels to how it would be if I were truly asleep. I hoped this would be enough for a cover.

"We took the Kumo-nin to the interrogation room where I quickly acted on scanning his mind," Inoichi began, his voice turning hard, "I found all that I needed to know and more. The ninja was acting on orders from Kumo to try and steal the secrets of the byakugan while here for the signing of the peace treaty. They had planned this a couple weeks before they agreed to the negotiations on the treaty with us. When he realized who it was he was taking the eyes from, the first born daughter of the clan leader of the Hyuuga clan, he decided to act on his own schemes as well."

Inoichi paused to take in a deep breath, something that sounded too forceful to just be ordinary. I felt his chakra swirl faster, reaching out in feint grabs as if it were wanting to grasp something and claw into it. Inoichi was trying to calm his anger.

"The man was a pedophile who previously acted on his whims as a volunteer at the Kumo orphanage," Inoichi stated, his voice icy, "and used his higher rank against incoming genin and chuunin ranked ninja as well. That night when he was going to capture Hinata-chan, he was going to take out her eyes and deliver them to Kumo while he kept Hinata-chan herself. He was going to raise her to be his personal slave and this desire was particularly vile as he was driven even more for his hatred of the Hyuuga clan. On the night when he attacked...when he saw a group of young children in the hallway..."

Inoichi couldn't speak any further, his voice becoming too rough with his anger, so he took a couple moments to regroup his emotions. Aiko was silent but her chakra roared within her. The image of the watering can was shattered and a swirling hurricane was revealed underneath it. I never once felt this intense level of anger from Aiko before.

"He was sickening enough to take an interest in all of them. But when he saw the twins Aiko, _our twins_ , the thoughts he had...the images he formed within his mind..." Inoichi's voice started out calm but it quickly turned back into the low growl, "he decided he would be taking more than just Hinata-chan that night and that's when I snapped."

Inoichi was breathing heavily, as if having just ran a marathon, and I felt Aiko shift so she could reach out towards Inoichi and offer him her hand.

"What did you do?" Aiko's voice was as steady as it was expectant. She was eager to hear what her husband had done to the enemy nin and I had a feeling that if it wasn't as harsh a punishment as she was expecting, then Aiko would take it upon herself to carry out the task fully.

"I went through his mind and began the painful process of extracting all of his memories," Inoichi admitted, "then I went into his mind and controlled his nervous system where I made sure to get a grasp on each nerve ending and make it feel like his entire body was being eaten from the inside out. I made it seem like acid had replaced his blood, like every bone in his body was breaking into microscopic fragments and made sure to make it where the monster never knew a moment without pain. I did this for nearly a whole sixteen hours before I felt my anger settle a little, but each time I think of him the anger just returns tenfold."

Inoichi's chakra leaped out and it began circling the room, like a tiger protecting its young. The chakra form grew until it was a barely contained form, daring any threat to try and test Inoichi's patience.

Inoichi shifted his position on the bed, "When I ended my session, it was Ibiki-san's turn to deal with the enemy and when I told him what I found, he did not hold back. He took over the mental torture for another eight hours before switching to physical torture. Ibiki-san started off with first cutting off the man's genitals before moving on to his other methods. While he was staying with Ibiki-san I left to deliver all the information I had gathered to Lord Third, he took it upon himself to meet up with the Raikage with an elite team and the enemy ninja himself. At first the Raikage tried to deny all pretenses of knowing anything of the situation, but couldn't deny anything after the Kumo ninja admitted to everything. He was far too weakened both mentally and physically to hold up resistance to questioning. The Hokage threatened another war which ultimately put Kumo in a corner. After that the Raikage was forced to face the consequences of his actions and agree to a new peace treaty that favored Konoha more than the last one. After the violation of the previous one, the Hokage was not going to take any chances and asked for more land, resources and the heads of all the people who conspired with the enemy ninja."

I could hardly believe what had taken place. I hadn't even thought about the ripple effects my actions would have across the villages?! Making sure the enemy ninja managed to stay alive turned out to be the saving grace in my actions. With no leverage, Kumo was forced to submit to the demands of Konoha or else face another war. The situation was eerily similar to that of the canon story line with only the villages being flipped. Sarutobi even asked for the heads of the ninja as part of the agreement!

"I'm glad to hear that the monster from Kumo got what he deserved," Aiko stated, "and it seems like everything turned out alright in the long run."

"The Kumo-nin is still dealing with Ibiki-san," Inoichi said, the tone in his voice satisfied, "and after dealing with that situation, another one arose."

Well, I should have known there was something else coming.

"What do you mean?" Aiko asked.

"The Hyuuga clan," Inoichi said, "apparently, the day after the attack there was a huge uproar within the clan. It was all quiet at first, but when the Hyuuga members began attacking one another and having to be sent to the hospital, well word got out."

 _Shit._

"Fighting within the clan?" Aiko gasped, "What on earth made them do that?"

"It was Hiashi-san that started it all or rather he fixed an old problem and there was backlash," Inoichi explained, "he did something that no other leader in even a hundred years had done: he released the bird cage seal on the second branch family. Aiko, he _freed_ them."

 _Okay, what the fuck?!_

Did Inoichi really just say that? Hiashi freaking Hyuuga got rid of the seal?! It took everything within me not to mess up my fake sleep persona because I was so elated! Yin was practically throwing a party up in my head and it was a struggle not to let a smile come onto my face. How the heck did he do it? Why now and not in the canon line? Was it because I had saved Hinata that changed his mind? But, that wouldn't explain the connection with his brother. I had saved Hiashi's daughter, not his brother.

" _You saved them both you dork!"_ Yin's giddy laughter filled my head, _"By saving Hinata, Hizashi didn't have to sacrifice himself for Hiashi!"_

I was stunned; how could I overlook such a fact? I knew that I wanted to save Hizashi but I had never imagined that changing the little fact of Hizashi surviving would mean there being no second branch of the Hyuuga clan?!

Aiko's lack of response must have meant that she was too shocked to say anything so Inoichi continued on, "There were the elder Hyuuga council that heavily fought against Hiashi on the matter and called it treasonous to the clan for him to have acted in such a way. A third of the main branch family members sided with them on the matter which basically ended up in an internal clan dispute. Usually non clan members would never have gotten hold of the news but since some ended up in the hospital, they had to state the reason for why they were there. The people that ended up there were some of the very council members that were mad and they said the reason was because Hiashi Hyuuga beat them in a duel."

Hiashi Hyuuga did what now?!

"Why did Hiashi-san do that for?" Aiko spluttered out, "He's usually so stoic and calm - I can't imagine anything that could rile him up that much for action, let alone someone of his own clan?"

Aiko had a point. Sure when I encountered the head clan leader, he got a little annoyed with me but I don't think he had a short temper. If anything, he would use words to do a warning first and save physical action as a last resort.

"The old council members and some people of the main branch family were wanting a new leader for the clan, someone who could lead them traditionally, but Hiashi-san wasn't going to allow that," Inoichi's tone was conspiratorially playful, something that reminded me of a gossiper's tone, "so Hiashi-san said whoever could beat him in an official duel, as is the Hyuuga tradition, then he would step down. Hiashi-san fought the entire advisory council and other members and beat them all. However, they couldn't even accept defeat quietly and still complained about holding up tradition: there needed to be a second branch to protect the main branch. So Hiashi-san - get this, Aiko - Hiashi-san made the council members _become branded with the seal mark_!"

There were no words that could explain just the utter "what the fuckery" that I was feeling.

"Hiashi-san explained that since they said the clan needed a secondary branch and the clan's byakugan needed to be protected so badly, then the council members would be the perfect ones to do so." Inoichi shifted on the bed again, coming closer and dipping the mattress further in his direction, "Needless to say, they didn't take it too well when they woke up in the hospital with a seal on their heads. But Hiashi-san was there to explain it and the second branch of the Hyuuga clan is made of only the council members which are basically just old prejudiced men. I didn't know Hiashi-san had it in him, but I'm glad he actually did something like that."

You could say that last line again, Inoichi because I had no idea either. Only in my wildest dreams would I have been able to see the clan mark being eradicated. Not only did it come true, but Hiashi even managed to put the mark on the old fuck-farts that wanted it so badly? The amount of badass points that Hiashi earned was seriously adding up.

"How do you know such in-depth details?" Aiko finally managed to ask, "Did they have to put all this in the hospital report?"

"I got background details from some gossiping nurses at the hospital but most of it, I got it straight from the source," Inoichi answered, "Hiashi-san came to me himself."

"For what reason did Hiashi-san go to you?"

"He wanted to thank me," Inoichi answered, his voice soft, "he said that the reason he had the strength to do what he did was because of our twins. He said seeing the twins reminded him of him and his brother in their younger years and that our little Ito was the catalyst needed to make everything right."

I think my body was just in a constant state of shock at this point.

"Our twins?" Aiko could barely form the words, she was so astonished, "How did Ito…?"

"He said he spoke to Ito at his daughter's party and that he said some words that really rang within him," Inoichi began stroking my hair and down my face, his voice a whisper now, "that was all he said on the matter."

"There is also another thing, something as huge as the others were in impact," Inoichi stated, "the Hyuuga have announced a collaborative effort with the Uchiha clan."

The statement was enough to stun Aiko into silence. I couldn't really blame her because I wasn't sure what the heck was going on anymore.

"Apparently the Hyuuga will be joining in the police force with the Uchiha to further promote harmony between the rivaling clans," Inoichi elaborated, "and not only that but they have publicly announced a 'burying of the hatchet' and are stepping forward to a future with the two clans working together from now on."

Aiko hummed in answer and honestly, I commended her for being able to answer at all. This whole conversation was a roller coaster ride that just kept on shocking.

Inoichi continued to stroke my face a couple more times before I felt the gentle press of lips to the middle of my forehead. Inoichi and Aiko continued to talk, but the conversation's topic changed to more menial things. I didn't pay attention, not that I could anyways, because I was still reeling from the fact that it was because of _me_ that Hiashi made the executive decision to change his entire clan. That night was such a blur of adrenaline and panic that I could barely remember the words that I spoke to Hiashi. I'm sure I could ask Yin to help me, but I still wouldn't know what was the trigger word that caused Hiashi to act in such a dramatic way.

I suppose that of all the things that could have happened, I would say I was pretty successful. I had somehow managed to save not only Hinata, but Hizashi, Neji and countless other Hyuuga clan members as well. Hinata and Hizashi were still alive and there was even no more secondary branch. Well, technically there was but it was people who didn't really matter anyways. Plus it was sheer luck that I managed to stay awake late enough to hear Inoichi catch Aiko up on everything that had happened. If I hadn't stayed awake, then I probably would never have gotten to hear this information as thoroughly as I had tonight.

At some point during my internal monologue, Inoichi had snuggled into bed as well and Aiko had resumed her humming. The thrill of the news tonight was leaving my system and with its absence, sleepiness replaced it.

I fell asleep to Aiko's voice and the complete chakra set of my family surrounding me. Just before the blanket of sleep fell over me, Yin spoke to me,

" _Good job, Ito,"_ he whispered, " _you're changing things."_

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

Starting the academy was a notion that filled me with both excitement and dread.

I was ecstatic to be finally learning some useful shinobi techniques and be surrounded by the main characters of the Naruto world on a daily basis. I was, however, very much dreading the fact that I had to do homework. I had more important things to do, like ensuring the ones I loved survived so I didn't have time to do simple math problems. But it wasn't a strong enough argument to get out of doing it - especially if I wanted to pass the academy and become a ninja at all.

During the past three years since Hinata's fateful birthday party and the events that followed, I had been prepping. Inoichi had upped our mental training sessions to strengthen our minds and making our third eye vision become clearer. Next, he would have us gather a real feel for our chakra and emphasized the skill of being able to grasp it. Chakra control was something that Inoichi wanted us to be experts in as a lot of the Yamanaka techniques required it. Fū partook in some sessions to train too, but he also aided in teaching Ino and I as well. He would show us the proper way to hold a kunai and how to aim when throwing a shuriken. In my free time I did some personal training of my own. I really wanted to fortify my range to my chakra sensitivity. Increasing my range was like stretching out a really tight rubber band that was never going to break. It was actually pretty easy to make the range bigger and my limit went from a single room to a little beyond the entire Yamanaka compound. I was pretty proud of my accomplishment since the compound was about two miles long if I didn't include the forest in the backyard.

Ino was also doing some personal growth as she studied herbology more intensely with Aiko in an effort to expand her knowledge in the subject. Her growth was astounding with her having multiple books memorized front and back. She even made up songs listing the various species of plants and did it all to a catchy tune too. It was almost scary how fast she was able to memorize the information so quickly.

Inoichi and Aiko had taken the first half of the day off so they could come to the Welcoming Ceremony for the new students at the academy. Fū had gotten special permission from his genin instructor to attend which was only out of principle on Fū's end. Something told me that even if he hadn't gotten permission, he would have found a way to attend anyway. It was just a Fū vibe that I got.

There was quite the crowd surrounding the academy. There were parents, children and shinobi alike that were gathered today. I didn't pay too much attention to the crowd however, because I was too busy searching for one person in particular: Naruto. Six years had passed, and I had yet to even catch a glimpse of the blonde-haired boy. Now that the moment had finally arrived, I was filled with eager anticipation.

"Just look at them," Ino suddenly whispered into my ear, "they don't know it yet, but they're all going to be my friend."

Ino was looking in awe at the enormous crowd of children gathered outside Konoha's academy for future killers aka shinobi. I had to admit that there were more kids that were gathered for the Welcoming Ceremony than I thought there would be. I had known that the clan kids were an almost guarantee for showing up but I wasn't quite familiar with civilian kids wanting to partake in the field too. In fact, the civilian kids outnumbered the clan kids seeing as the only faces I recognized were a small handful. The anime didn't go too far in depth on the other lives of non-clan kids, save for Sakura but she was a special case. Looking at them now, wide-eyed and eager at the prospect of becoming a "cool ninja" as some of them repeatedly exclaimed I concluded that more than half of them would drop out. Shinobi life was not easy, and it was not for the faint of heart nor stomach. Oh well, they would soon find out where they stood on this topic and at least they would be getting a decent education.

"All of them?" I questioned my twin, turning towards her to whisper my question back.

I didn't doubt that Ino could achieve such an ideal. At six years old, Ino had really began to flourish into a social butterfly. Actually, maybe butterfly was too delicate of an animal - Ino more resembled a social octopus. She was sweet and all, but she really never let a person go without them being firmly established as friends. It was a good thing that six was the age we were allowed to attend the academy because Ino was beginning to be particularly aggressive towards the kids that happened to walk into our flower shop. Now she had an entire school full of victims to fall into her friendship trap.

"All of them." Ino confirmed with a nod.

So looks like Ino will be the most popular girl in school when she makes everyone her friend. Ino had this gleam in her eye which meant she was thinking of all the ways to make her goals a reality. I turned to the crowd and began searching through it for a blonde head of hair. Naruto had no doubt become familiar with his isolated life, but he was probably still coming to terms with the discrimination from the village. Naruto was no idiot and wouldn't be completely oblivious to how people treated him, but he would probably be in the questioning phase. Wondering why strangers would treat him so harshly and what he ever did to deserve it. I wanted to ensure that Naruto knew kindness way before he had in the canon story line.

"There you guys are!" a familiar voice called out, "I've been looking for you guys everywhere!"

I turned around and saw Sasuke running up to us. Sasuke had grown to where he stood a little taller than both Ino and I. He had on a shoulder bag that was decorated with little pink cherry blossom flowers which was mighty adorable if I had to say.

"Sasuke!" Ino and I shouted together in greeting.

Ino was quick to gather him in a hug and was just as quick to let him go so she could start talking, "Today is our first day at the academy and I'm so excited! Did you know that kaa-chan packed me extra fruit because she knows I love it so much? Also, can you believe there are so many other kids here?! Do you think it would be hard to make them all my friend? Or do you think I'll have classes with all of them? What if we had one huge class together, wouldn't that be great?"

Sasuke hummed in answer, knowing better than to try and chirp in when Ino was on her talking spiel. He turned to me and gave me a smile that showed no teeth, something that was a signature move for Sasuke. It was like a huge soft smile. It was funny how I could pick up on his emotions easily now, but I guess it just was something that went along with getting to know someone well. In between Hinata's birthday party and now, I can confidently say that I had managed to form solid bonds with the clan children of Konoha. There were hundreds of play dates, plenty of dinners and even a couple more sleepovers surprisingly enough. The best thing would be that each of them got along well with each other, so it was always a good time whenever any of us hung out.

Sasuke pulled me into a hug as well and when I pulled away, I decided to ask him a question.

"You put flowers on your bag?" I pointed to where the real flowers were sewn onto the body and strap of his otherwise white shoulder bag.

A tint of pink came onto his cheeks, "Nii-san said it would make my bag look better. It doesn't look bad does it?"

"Nope," I reassured him, "I like it. Actually, I think it represents you very well."

One thing that I learned from all my time spent at the leader of the Uchiha clan's house was that Sasuke was quite literally a fluffball. After getting past the idolized affection that he had for Itachi it was clear to see that Sasuke was a sweet boy. He was always thoughtful and generous towards me and our mutual friend group. He never even so much as yelled with anger. It was like that emotion was unknown to his brain. Sure he could be annoyed or frustrated, but never any anger. It was such a contrast to how the canon plotline made him out to be. Honestly if I had to compare him to anyone it would be Itachi himself.

Sasuke's cheeks pinked further and he looked down at the ground with another soft smile, "Thanks Ito."

"No problem."

Ino, who hadn't realized that Sasuke had partaken in another conversation, was still carrying on her one-sided conversation. Sasuke turned his attention back to my twin and was about to say something when a bell chimed throughout the courtyard. I looked around as the crowd around me began shifting to the center where a wooden stage with a podium had been set up. The decorations were nice, with a gigantic green banner that said 'Konoha Academy' in gold writing and complementary matching streamers, but I couldn't focus on that. I was in too much shock at who stood behind the podium:

Hiruzen Sarutobi.

It was weird seeing someone in person whose face is literally carved on a mountain side — one that could clearly be seen in the distance behind him. He looked just as the anime had depicted him, in his signature hokage robes and hat. Objectively he looked like any other elderly person, but the way he carried himself was anything but. It was a sort of quiet confidence where he didn't exude cockiness, but he was assured that, should the need arise, he would be able to stop any threat. Which I suppose is a very good trait to have when being the leader of a village. Being a said leader, of a ninja village no less, meant that he was one of the most powerful shinobi Konoha had to offer. So, it was very confusing for me to not even distinguish any chakra level difference than a jounin ranked ninja.

" _He's very good at his chakra control. He's able to control the magnitude of his power by keeping it at the highest ranking shinobi in the vicinity as to not entirely intimidate his citizens. If he were to truly let it loose, it would be equivalent to standing naked under the largest waterfall that had ice glaciers falling from it!"_ Yin informed me, cackling gleefully, _"However, he can't fool me! Check this out."_

Yin provided me with a mental image of Sarutobi's psyche. His control was a mixture of genjutsu and sheer force of will that combined to create a sort of clear wall. The rest of his power was contained within the walls except for a small vent that allowed others to perceive what he wanted them to know. A very shady shinobi move, if you ask me, but I couldn't deny the cleverness.

" _I knew he was strong,"_ I thought back to Yin, _"but his strength does nothing for me. I still view him as flawed."_

By now, the entering students and their families had gathered around the podium in front of Sarutobi. I vaguely scanned the crowd to locate Aiko and Inoichi and found them to be not too far from where Sasuke, Ino and I were at. They had left to go turn in some paperwork, but they seemed to have made it back in time for the speech that the hokage was now giving. I could have pretended to have cared and been inspired by a generic and cliché speech about doing the good thing for the village, but I didn't. I was too busy sorting out the mixed feelings that I had for the person I was supposed to revere with only the utmost respect.

Now I knew that Sarutobi was supposed to be one of the good guys, the one who was the leader of the village of all the beloved main characters from Naruto. He could do no wrong and even if he did, they should be overlooked because he was the hokage and he had his reasons. Yeah, I didn't believe in that crap. I saw Sarutobi for what he was, and he was not the all-powerful being that most ninjas viewed him to be. Other people like Iruka had such a firm opinion that the lord third hokage should never be doubted, but it was utter madness. Hiruzen Sarutobi was human and even though he held such a position with a lot of power did not equal to blind faith. Not to mention the fact that Sarutobi was far from the "good" role model. Being the leader of a shinobi village, where people were essentially glorified hit men, meant that the leader was probably the worst of all.

And that would be a correct assumption.

Sarutobi was weak. Maybe not in the sense of fighting on the battlefield or diplomatically dealing with other villages to ensure the flourishing of Konoha, but as a person, yes, he was weak. The man could not say no to his friend, the monster named Danzō. Sarutobi, the leader who was supposed to oversee all processes in Konoha, turned a blind eye to Danzō and his dark deeds. I wasn't deluded to think that a person should only do good. I was in the Naruto world and was on the path to being a ninja so I knew that being a killer was a role I would one day have to fulfill. But Danzō and his crimes, letting them slide by, was unacceptable. Unwilling to put a stop to a person he had a history with was something I could never understand. Even though that Sarutobi knew that Danzō advocated for the hokage seat and would take any chance to undermine him to take that power, he decided to keep Danzō right by him. It was literally taking the phrase 'keep your friends close and enemies closer' to a literal meaning. And something that really pissed me off was his care of Naruto or should I say the lack thereof? Yes, it was so sweet of Sarutobi to promise Minato and Kushina he would take care of their child and to provide him a place to live in. It was also so kind of Sarutobi to let Naruto live alone and let the discrimination against him go virtually unchecked. Yeah, being the hokage is a very demanding job and certainly meant that he didn't have the appropriate time to care for and raise a child. But it's his actions that really irked me. Could he not have Jiraiya, Naruto's godfather, be a more present stable figure in Naruto's life? What about Kakashi, who lost everyone he held dear to him? Would it not have been better to help Kakashi cope and move on while being close with the one person who he had a last connection with to his lost ones?

" _Flawed indeed,"_ Yin agreed, nodding his head.

Yeah, needless to say, I wasn't Sarutobi's biggest fan.

The sound of clapping brought me out of my thoughts. Sarutobi bowed his head slightly to the crowd before turning and walking off the stage. The next person to take the podium was Iruka himself, who I decided to pay attention to.

"Hello everyone," Iruka greeted, unrolling a scroll, "if I could have all entering students please head inside to the academy grounds while I speak to the parents or guardians and give a quick overview of the curriculum. Once I am finished, instructors will come around and gather their students and head inside to start the academic day."

Ino grabbed my hand and began skipping towards where Iruka had directed. I barely had time to latch onto Sasuke's own hand before I was whisked away with the momentum of Ino's enthusiasm.

Walking onto the Academy grounds was uneventful. It looked just as it had in the anime, if a little more spacious. Something that did surprise me was the sheer number of children. If I had to give an estimate of how many were here, I would say there was roughly one hundred fifty prospective shinobi present. Most were from civilian households as I couldn't discern anything too unique about their chakra levels. Those belonging to ninja clans had the most chakra storage and weldability. Compared to the civilian kids was like comparing a painted canvas to a blank one. To their benefit, however, there was a certain malleability to the chakra that implied they would do good in the shinobi field where one would have to use chakra daily.

"I'm going to go make friends!" Ino announced with a bright smile before skipping confidently into the crowd of children.

Of course, Ino would want to increase her friend list to as long as possible. Sasuke looked at me with an exasperated look before following after her, "I'll make sure she doesn't scare anyone too bad."

"Thanks, Sasuke!" I waved off my dark-haired friend as he ran off after Ino.

Now it was time for me to finally start a hunt of my own.

Naruto had to be somewhere in this sea of children. I extended my senses, breezing over the bundles of chakra in search of anyone that stood out. I made quick work in eliminating those with too small chakra reserves and separating those that I was already familiar with. It wasn't until that I got to the outer edges of the courtyard when I felt something different. There was a signature that was completely massive in size. In terms of dimension, it seemed virtually bottomless. It was like staring out into the ocean; its depths completely baffling. Another thing about it was that it came in two colors like when Yin's chakra would intertwine with my own. The purple chakra was tinged with that of burnt orange.

I wasted no time and began moving towards the dual chakra signature. It was slow going with how excited the group of children were. There were kids running and screaming excitedly, some even went so far as to cut in front of me to chase after one another. When I finally got to where I thought Naruto to be at, I froze. It wasn't just because someone sat at the iconic setting of the only tree with a swing on it, but the sight that was before me. A boy wore clothes that could not even be termed as 'second-hand' as they appeared to be more like 'fifth-hand.' His black pants were spotted with mud and dirt as well as littered with tatters near the ends of the pant legs. His once beige colored shirt was covered in stains of grass, mud and food. The only arguable article of clothing that was in a decent condition were his tennis shoes, but even those were frayed and scuffed. His hair was blonde and just as bright, but I would easily describe it as resembling the sun. But it wasn't just like any sunlight, it was more like when the sun was making its ascent into the sky. It was golden and rich in color. He had his face looking down at the ground in a dejected manner, moving in his swing in slow movements.

I also noticed the wide berth that the other children had given him.

The sight brought me many mixed emotions, mostly that of anger, but I pushed it all aside in order for me to fulfill the task at hand. I walked up to the swinging boy, adamantly ignoring the sudden stares that I was obtaining, and paused until I was just in front of him. It took him a full swing back and forth before the blonde boy noticed my presence. His head raised and he stopped the swing from moving with his feet. His eyes were the first thing I noticed. If his hair was golden like the sun, then his eyes were those that matched the brilliancy of the sky. Fitting in an ironic way. His sky-blue eyes widened, and his hands clenched the ropes of the swing tightly. His breathing caught in his throat in an audible sound. It wasn't hard for me to see what was going through his head.

Naruto Uzumaki was afraid.

* * *

 **A/N: I would like to first start by apologizing for my latest update ever.**

 **It finally happened and I was struck with a sudden case of writer's block that would literally not go away. It was a very confusing and frustrating time as I know what direction I want to take this story. I have planned it all out in my head, but executing it into words was another story entirely (pun intended). I also cannot believe that this story has been in existence for little over a year and I've only written six chapters. I've got to do better, so please bear with me a little longer. Expect this year to be accompanied by more frequent updates as I am specifically setting time aside in my schedule to write (something that should have been implemented long ago). The writer's block has officially dissolved away and I am returning with full force!**

 **This update is considerably shorter than my usual work, but I just really wanted to get something out to show that I'm still writing. The next one will be undoubtedly better and come much faster. Also I've noticed that since my updates are so far in between I've been sandwiching my updates with author's notes which can probably be annoying. Please expect my notes to be at the bottom of the chapters from now on.**

 **As always, I am so utterly thankful for all the continued support that this story has been receiving.**

 **I will strive to be a better author and release updates at a routine time.**

 **A refreshing bowl of cereal with fruits scattered on top for your thoughts?**


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